With great power, there must also come great responsibility.
She heard those words for as long as she could remember. Her family motto, a credo for which her father lived by ever since he was her age. So, despite the fact that even till this day she was still not 100% sure of what they truly meant, she's been doing everything she could to live up to it. Because her parents always taught her that above all else, one must always strive to be a good person. To not take advantage of others, but to help them if she could. To not step on the little guy, but to stand alongside them and make sure they weren't step on. To always show compassion and understanding to those who need it instead of pushing them to the sides. To always remain humble and to remember that others deserve to be applauded for their actions just as much as her.
Her sister was always like that. Many considered her a natural leader, a compassionate and caring person that always tried to solve problems through compassion and understanding before lifting her fists. A charismatic person that people always ask for advice. A popular girl that didn't think less of anyone else. For many, there was simply one word that could describe Mayday Parker.
Perfect.
Boys wanted to date her, girls wanted to be her, even though she wasn't as much as a gifted genius like her father or her peers, her grades were still admirable, she was easily the favorite of many of her teachers. Growing up, the young red-headed sometimes felt like she at times lived on her older sister's shadow. That at times, no matter if she did something good, someone would no doubt say: 'I expected nothing less from Mayday's little sister', or something like that.
Still, despite the facts that there were few times in which she envied her sister, the feeling disappeared faster than when it first appeared. No matter what she loved her sister and the relationship that she had with her and she wouldn't allow something as petty as jealousy ruin that for her. For what she felt for her sister above the fleeting feeling of jealousy was admiration.
In her eyes, her older sister was someone strong, kind, smart, among other things. She learned the teachings of her parents and passed them onto her whenever she could. For her, Mayday Parker was an example, someone to look up too besides her parents.
And now, she's on the same boat Mayday once was.
Now, she too, is an older sister of a curious and joyful boy named Benjamin Richard Parker.
Now, it was her job to be someone that he could admire. Someone to pass on the teachings of her parents. To help him learn what it means to help people, to show compassion and to always strive to be a good person above all else…
To help him realize the meaning behind the family motto once she discovers it herself…
That with great power, there must also come great responsibility.
Her name is Anna-May Parker and she too, is the daughter of Spider-Man.
And this… this is her story.
The story of how she followed into the footsteps of her parents and sister and, alongside her friends, became great heroes…
The story of how she, in spite of everything in her life, managed to turn her life into an amazing fantasy turned reality.
January the fourth.
Many things have already happened across the world.
In Japan, a young boy was doing what he could to clean a beach in preparation for the upcoming admition's exam for U.A. His mentor, the number one hero of Japan, All Might was now confirmed to be a staff member and would begin once the school year starts. Doctor Stephen Strange was looking for the best masters of the mystic arts, for he, alongside Doctor Voodoo were working on a certain project of theirs. The Fantastic Four had just returned from a space adventure, accompanied by an alien winged woman that seemed very fond of the Human Torch. Besides that, it's been well over seven months since the identity of the most infamous vigilante of all times was outed and the world (more specifically, the people of New York) were still trying to wrap their heads around it.
A little over a month or two, Peter and his loved ones started to be harassed by the media and a few small time crooks. Why? Because they had the illusion of trying to become the next big baddie that finally managed to beat New York's wall crawler.
It didn't end up well for them.
The arachnid hero was more than capable of stopping the petty thugs and henchmen trying to become full-on-villains with relative ease. While annoying, Peter somewhat treasured those moments. For he knew that the worst was yet to arrive.
Right now, the city of New York seemed to be in peace at the moment. There didn't seem to be any kind of trouble at first sight… that was at least until three hulking brutes appeared out of nowhere near a Stark facility and started to cause mayhem all around them. They were almost three stories high and to the surprise of many, they were speaking japanese.
Close to the three foreigners, multiple armored trucks with the logo of the infamous A.I.M arrived alongside many other A.I.M soldiers. All of whom were carrying energy rifles, sonic cannons alongside a couple of mech suits that were almost as big as the japanese villains.
"Over two months of planning for those idiots to ruin the whole thing. This was supposed to be a discrete operation! They were supposed to act only if necessary!" complained one of the A.I.M scientists.
"You know how those japanese are. They're just so full of themselves, they even call what are essentially lackys villains." said another one.
"Why are they even here?"
"Because we needed some muscle just in case and instead of hiring it, the top scientists decided to instead get some gullible idiots to do just that. Too bad that they ended up being more gullible than anticipated."
While the two scientists were having this conversation, a decent amount of A.I.M soldiers entered the facility while the remaining stayed outside to guard the place. They prepared for the inevitable arrival of a superhero as no doubt, one of them would arrive soon enough after the chaos that the two japanese henchmen caused. Civilians ran in terror while the police arrived and tried their best to slow the giants down while also forming a perimeter to keep the citizens away from danger. Their efforts were admirable, but the japanese laughed at them. Still, they did their job and just as one of them was about to be crushed by the hands of one of the giants, the officer disappeared in the blink of an eye.
In less than a second, the officer found himself well over fifty yards away from the monster. All the scientists flinched as a silver blur rushed towards some of their soldiers and knocked each one of them before they could even process what was happening.
"For a bunch of so-called scientists I thought that you would be smarter than this." commented a hero.
He was a man with white hair in primary blue clothing with white accents that resembled electricity. While the foreigners paid him little care and straight up laughed at his costume, the obviously smarter criminals tensed up, for before them was the silver bullet of the Avengers.
The mutant hero Quicksilver had arrived on the battlefield.
"Dammit! If he's here, then the rest of the Avengers must be close by!" said one of the scientists.
"Well, it's technically a branch of the Avengers, but I guess to you it's all the same." said a female voice.
When they turned to see who it was that said it, they saw a woman with black hair braided in a ponytail. She had a mask that covered most of her face except for both her eyes and hair. Her costume was primarily black with red accents and the torso part being white with a red circle in the middle and a zigzag line running vertically across it.
She was the newcomer hero Emily Guerrero or as most people knew her. The inhuman heroine Synapse.
"Goddamit, they're already here! Fire!"
At the orders from the scientist in charge, the rest of the A.I.M soldiers all aimed at the newcomer, but a few of them started to feel either dizzy or clenched their heads as they felt the biggest headache in their life, courtesy of course from the inhuman telepath. While she affected a decent amount of them, some were still able to shoot at the hero. They would have hit her if not for a purple barrier forming in front of her.
"Gentlemen please, let's discuss this in a civilized manner before things get out of hand." said a man descending from the sky.
The man had grey hair that was actually dyed black, had red shades and was wearing a black uniform with a large red 'W' on the front. He was known for many things; many scientists and businessmen knew him for being the man that ended leading Williams Innovations to bankrupt. Others knew him for his many roles as a famous Hollywood actor, but at the moment the mostly pacifist Simon Williams was not any of that.
No, right now he was Wonder Man, the Ionic hero whose strength matched that of even the mightiest of beings.
Despite his efforts of trying to approach things in a peaceful manner, A.I.M kept on firing at the three heroes. Simon sighed, he was really hoping to resolve things without the use of violence, but as he saw the rest of his teammates arriving that thought was quickly thrown out of the window.
One of them was a woman dressed in a green-hooded costume with white accents and an 'X' on the waist. Another was a towering muscular man with hooves for feet. Another was a man of colored brown hair with a white streak. Another was a woman of Korean descent with black hair and was dressed in a costume with the torso being primarily white with a red web pattern and a red mask covering the lower part of her face. Another was a man in a white and red costume that flew with the help of a pair of red vibranium wings Lastly, was a blonde caped hero with a large 'C' on his chest.
They were the mutant with absorbing powers Rougue, the inhuman Gorgon, the mighty sorcerer Dr. Voodoo, the spider-themed heroine Silk, the flying based hero Falcon and the one and only Captain Celebrity.
"Ok people, you know the drill!" said Rougue as she flew past many soldiers and punched one of the mechs, knocking it down with relative ease. Silk generated webbing from the tip of her fingers, catching ten A.I.M scientists before hurling them all at the hulking inhuman, who knocked each and every single one of them with a swing of his arm before charging at one of the colossal henchmen. Quicksilver got every remaining civilian away from danger while Falcon fought a few scientists that had jetpacks with them.
"While it is not odd to see A.I.M targeting Stark facilities, I am surprised that they are attacking this facility considering that as far as I am aware, there's nothing that could interest them." said Jericho, blasting a couple of A.I.M scientists with a magical blast from his staff.
"Well, I'm surprised that they decided to get three brainless idiots to do what seems to be a discrete operation. Seriously, I thought these guys were supposed to be like genius or something." said Quicksilver, returning to the battle as he punched a few dozen scientists in the time it took for him to say one word.
"哀れな英雄たち、あなたが望むだけ多くのあなたを送ってください! 私たちはあなた方全員を粉砕し、王のようにこの国を支配します!" screamed one of the giants as he tried and failed to smash the mutant heroine.
"I think they're not from around here. Was that japanese?" asked Cindy as she evaded multiple energy blasts shot at her before kicking the man responsible in the face.
"It was." said Captain Celebrity.
"Care to tell us what they said sugar?" asked Rougue.
"Of course!" he replied, dodging a mech's blast before punching it into the ground. "Long story short, he basically said that we were pathetic and that they were going to rule the country like kings."
"Seriously? Ok, I know I'm rather new to this and I know that I shouldn't believe everything that I heard, but are the people of Japan really that full of themselves?" asked Synapse, taking down a couple of A.I.M soldiers.
"Not everyone is like that." said Skyline, however most of his teammates looked at him weirdly. "... ok, maybe a little."
"It matters little to me! I'll crush these would-be conquerors beneath my hooves for even daring to underestimate us all!" said Gorgon, charging at one of the villains and to the surprise of the foreigners, the inhuman proved to be strong enough to knock him on the ground.
The battle kept on going, with blasts of both scientific and mystic nature flying around everywhere. While most of Unity Squad fought back the scientific criminals and their massive henchmen Rougue told both Quicksilver and Synapse to get inside of the facility to prevent whatever it was that A.I.M was planning. The duo of the mutant born and the rookie inhuman nodded and headed inside. Outside, the battle kept on raging and to the surprise of only the three foreigners, the heroes were winning. Sure, they outnumbered them more than five to one, but the group of heroes were infinitely superior to them in both an individual matter and in their teamwork. Funny, not that long ago Unity Squad would have been at each other's throat, more specifically, the inhumans and mutants of the group, but now they were a well oiled machine of combat.
They knew it and their enemies did as well. The chances of even beating one of them were practically non-existent. A.I.M needed something, just one slip up on the heroes part and maybe, just maybe, they could gain the upper hand. However, that was a hopeless idea to think of. Outside of the inhuman rookie and maybe both the quirked caped hero and the pacifist-natured Wonder Man that was simply not going to happen. Then, an opportunity appeared in front of them. Suddenly, they all saw a NEWS helicopter flying awfully close to them, at least enough for their weapons to reach it.
As scientists, A.I.M thought that the idea of things like 'luck' or 'miracles' to be simply preposterous. But then again, there were always exceptions.
"Why's a helicopter flying so close from here?!" asked the mutant leader.
"I thought there was a perimeter."
"There should be one Silk. What on earth are they doing?" asked the winged-hero.
"Whatever the reason, we have to-" said Simon, however before he could finish his sentence one of the soldiers used one of their plasma cannons to shoot at the vehicle hitting it on the tail. "NO!"
That was their opening.
The heroes, for a split second were distracted and wide open. Rougue, Celebrity and Wonder Man all tried to reach the helicopter, but while their concentration was on that, they were tossed to the side by full might of the three massive villains. While their attack would barely do any damage to them, it was enough to send them at least a block or two away at most. Jericho tried to cast a spell but was hit by a blast of one of the mechs in the back. Falcon tried to reach the falling helicopter but suddenly his wings stopped working for a maximum of three seconds.
While no one was paying attention one of the A.I.M soldiers shot an E.M.P blast to him. Normally, such tacti would have proven to be futile since his wings were protected from such attack. However, this particular E.M.P blast seemed to be stronger than most. Because of that, the winged-Avenger was quite worried, not because of his own well being, he was very high and it wouldn't take long before his wings reactivated themselves, not that wasn't what was worrying him. What was though, was the fact that if no-one reaches the helicopter in time, then at least three innocents would lose their lives.
But luckily for them, A.I.M was not the only one receiving miracles today.
The crew of the helicopter closed their eyes, waiting for a dead that ever came. When nothing happened, they slowly started to open their eyes and saw that their helicopter was being suspended in the air by multiple thin threads of webbing. They knew that it couldn't have been Silk, for she was currently dodging multiple energy blasts being directly shot at her. Then, a sudden thud could be heard from atop of the helicopter and then a figure appeared before them.
"Talk about flight turbulence, am I right?" said a oh so very familiar face.
The red and blue costume, the web pattern, the large white lenses and the spider logo in the chest. The man quickly took all three of them out of the helicopter and swung to the top of the nearest building, carefully setting them down. "Stay here, it's probably safetier than being inside of that thing, don't you think?" he said before swinging towards where the battle was taking place.
The cameraman, the pilot and the NEWS woman all stared in awe at their savior for a few seconds before the woman pulled herself together. "This just in! Spider-Man has just joined the battle against AI.M!" she said in excitement.
Things like super hearing weren't necessary, for even without such a thing they could all hear it. The citizens that were close to the battle all cheered, for New York's very own spider-themed protector. And from within the crowd, a green-eyed girl with red hair that was covered by a Mets' cap looked at the cracked screen of her phone and smiled upon seeing the guardian of the Big Apple.
The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man had just arrived indeed.
"Hey, I know that I came uninvited but I just had to crash the party!" said Spider-Man, landing on top of a Mech and webbing its arms and allowing Gorgon to knock the machine to the side.
"Worry not Spider-Man, there's still plenty of A.I.M scum left for you to stomp!" said the inhuman, turning to another enemy and tossing him to the side.
"Scum? Oh my, what language! You know, Cap certinately would not approve of such strong vocabulary!" said the web-slinger, knocking down multiple enemies and webbing them to the ground. Although, it was quite obvious by the tone of his voice, that he was simply joking around.
"Then it's a good thing he's not here!" said Voodoo, recovering from the attack and blasting his attacker with a magical blast that put the scientist to sleep. "Your aid is greatly appreciated."
"Well, I was just passing by and thought about lending a hand." he said, dodging a swing of the mech behind him before he webbed and knocked it down. "But in all honesty, you guys seemed to have been doing a good job before I came."
"Not sure how good of a job, considering that we almost allowed a NEWS helicopter to crash without any of us being able to do a thing." said Cindy Moon, knocking yet another one of the criminals before landing next to the web-head. "Hi Pete."
Upon hearing her say his real name, Peter flinched. Sure, now everyone knew who he was beneath the mask, but after living more than half his life with a dual secret identity, he was still not used to being called by his real name. "Can you please not call me by my real name when we're super-heroing? It still kind of bothers me."
"She knows, that's why she called you like that!" said Falcon, swinging his wings and sending metallic feathers towards the many mechs. "Besides, it's been months by now, surely you should be used to it by now!"
"To be honest, not really. And besides, don't beat yourselves over the helicopter thing. Things like that happen. Besides, I'm sure you guys could have pulled something."
"Your faith in us is quite appreciated." said Voodoo to the web-slinger.
"それはスパイダーマンと呼ばれるものですか?"
"本当に? これは本当に彼らが非常に高く評価している伝説的な自警行為ですか?"
"この国の悪役は、そのような変な格好の小人に殴られることを許すなら、本当に哀れなはずです! 本当の悪役が何ができるかを彼に見せましょう!" said one of the giants, throwing his massive fist towards the arachnid hero. However, to his surprise Spider-Man dodged the attack with ease and ran across his arm and toward his face. "何!"
"Man, you really are full of yourself." Spider-Man said casually, jumping over the head of the giant, shooting a thread of webbing to the back of his head and pulling him to the ground with little to no effort.
This act shocked them all, the fact that he was capable of just casually taking one of them down like that when back home it would take multiple pro-heroes to simply stand up to one of them. Before they could even recover from the shock, Spider-Man jumped over the fallen villain and shot a barrage of webbing, capturing him and easily taking him out of the fight.
"これは何ですか?! なぜ私は自由になれないのですか?!"
"Because my webbing is stronger than steel cables. Even Rhino and guys stronger than him struggle to break free from even less than that, so just knock it off." said Spider-Man.
"When did you learn to speak japanese?" asked Wonder Man, returning back to the battle and knocking one of the other two giants with little effort.
"Why is that surprising? I can speak Mandarine."
"I'm sure Mandarine and japanese ain't the same thing." said Rougue, knocking the last remaining giant in a fashion similar to Simon's.
"Well, I had to." said Spider-Man. webbing the two unconcious giants just like he did the other.
"Why?" asked Falcon.
Just then, Captain Celebrity returned from being sent flying by the villain. For a brief moment, the two looked at each other, for Skyline was able to hear what was happening. "Just… reasons."
"Really?" they suddenly heard. In the blink of an eye, a group of A.I.M scientists appeared before the group all tight up and standing next to them were Synapse and Quicksilver, who was the one to ask. "You won't tell us, but apparently Christopher knows?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Captain Celebrity, quite offended by the words of his teammate.
"Nothing, is just… well, most of us here have more of a history with him than you, so it's odd that you know, but not us." said Cindy, with most of the team nodding.
"Rude."
"Look, I'll tell you after we wrap this up ok?" asked Spider-Man with everyone nodding. "By the way, what took you so long?"
"Gulliver and his brothers sent us crashing into a building and the thing almost fell on a couple of civilians. So, we had to take care of things."
"... Really Rougue?" asked Spider-Man, taking down another criminal.
"What?"
"Gulliver was a normal man that found himself on many lands. The most famous of them was one with small people. So, your analogy clearly doesn't work." explained Voodoo.
"You could have gone with Paul Bunyan or someone like that, but no. You had to go with the guy that's technically not a giant." said Cindy to her team leader.
"Look, what were you expecting, I'm not the literature teacher at Xavier's!" said Rougue, defending herself.
'I'll never understand human culture." said Gorgon before he and the rest of the heroes resumed their fight against their enemies.
It didn't take them long to defeat all of A.I.M's forces until only one remained. To his credit, he seemed to be the bravest of them all, since he fought till the bitter end. Also, he seemed to be the smartest one as well since when the moment he saw that the battle was lost, he simply sighed and surrendered.
"Well, would you look at that! They did have a smart guy with them!" laughed Pietro as Silk webbed his hands behind his arm.
"Hey, look on the bright side. Today's taco Tuesday in prison, that has to count for something, right?" said Spider-Man, tryna to cheer him up.
"I'm a vegetarian."
"Oh… well, then it's a good thing Deadpool isn't here to hear that."
After securing the criminals and aiding the cops in making sure they didn't try anything, a multitude soon arrived and cheered for their saviors. They all waved and smiled at them and even approached them to make sure they were all ok and a few of them even having some small talk with them.
From within the crowd of civilians, the same red-headed girl watched the events unfold with a smile. More specifically, to a certain friendly neighborhood.
"Way to go dad." she said before leaving the scene.
On another part of the city, on a once believed to be an abandoned warehouse the police entered the building and once inside, they saw multiple thugs incapacitated and secured for them to catch. Surprising no one, some of the criminals that were being hunted down for more crimes that one cared to list were covered in webbing and with a letter attached to them. The officers all went to properly arrest the criminals and gather the evidence that would no doubt have them behind bars for quite some time. One of the police officers took the letter in his hand and chuckled after reading it.
"From your friendly web-slinger Spider-Girl and her sensational friends!"
"Alright folks, just because the girl in red and her pals helped out, doesn't mean we don't have a job to do! Let's get going people!" he said as the rest of the officers all went to work.
Meanwhile, while that was going on, in another abandoned part of town, were the individuals responsible for taking down the thugs of the warehouse. One of them had blonde hair, although that was something that one couldn't see due to the fact that his whole body was hidden beneath an advanced tech armor. It was primarily red with parts of the torso, face and the wrist being black. His face was completely covered by the suit's cowl that had a pair of yellow lenses. He also had what looked like a yellow fly on his chest. To many, he was simply Jack "JJ" Jameson, grandson of J.J.J. But only a select few knew of his alter ego. The human fly vigilante, the Buzz.
Another pair look quite identical with a few notorious differences. For one, outside of the fact that one was more athletic, was the fact that one of them was confined to a wheelchair. Courtesy of a madman known as Hobgoblin. This was Regina Morgana, formerly one of the Ladyhawke vigilantes. Whom, despite the tragedy that happened to her, refused to leave her crime fighting career. So, she opted for a different route to fight injustice. She became the tech support genius to her twin sister.
That would be Rosetta Morgana, the current Ladyhawke. Who alongside her sister, was the daughter of a notorious criminal. Yet, the two decided to follow a different path, one inspired by the hero Falcon. She wore a green costume with a few yellow and orange accents. She was of african descent and had short brown hair that was visible through her cowl, just like her brown eyes and mouth. Like her sister and the Buzz she also didn't have any kind of powers whatsoever. Still, she was in top human condition and was a master in hand to hand combat.
Lastly, but certainly not least, was the heroine of a generation. With shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes many used to simply see her as Mayday Parker, the charismatic girl that was always asked for advices. But now, after events that unfolded months ago, people learned that there was something else to the star basketball player.
She... was Mayday Parker, daughter of Spider-Man.
She was the Sensational Spider-Girl and today, may as well be the last day she gets to stop crime with her friends.
"Stopped a dangerous criminal organization before lunch. Are we awesome or what?" asked JJ with pride while eating pizza in the secret hangout place they've been using since highschool.
"But did you have to go so hard on them? I'm pretty sure that if you were a police officer you would be accused of police brutality." said Mayday while eating a slice as well.
"Good thing I'm not a cop. Besides, those scumbags were planning on selling drugs to minors from multiple school districts. I say they had it coming."
"You know, this is the reason why your public image hasn't improved as much as it should." said Regina.
"Meh."
"Outside of Buzz's debatable excess of force, he's right. We stopped a dangerous criminal organization with connections to Magia. One that, might I add, have been searched by the police for months with little to no advancements. I think we deserve a pat on the back just for that. Don't you agree May?" asked Rosetta to the wall crawler.
"Guess you're right. To be honest, if this is the last time I do this here, then I'm glad I went off with a bang." said Mayday, with the group's mood somewhat declining.
"Yeah… still hard to believe that you're leaving." said JJ.
He had his suspensions about her being Spider-Girl, but when he learned that that was indeed true. Well, his world was flipped upside down. The two have known each other for years, being friends and at one point even a couple. But the day he learned of her secret identity was without a doubt, one of the most shocking revelations in the world. Second only to when she told them that she was moving to the other side of the planet.
"I know, but look on the bright side. Next time you see an article about sensations in Japan, no doubt you will see a picture of the future pro hero Spider-Girl." she said, trying to ease the situation.
"Isn't that like a downgrade or something?" asked JJ.
"Realy JJ?"
I'm just saying. For what I know, a lot of pro heroes are just a bunch of glory divas. You're already a better hero than most of them. Hell, I'm a better hero than most of them!" he said.
"Can't believe I'm going to say it, but Buzz's right.
"... I'm sorry what?"
"Don't make me repeat it." said Rosetta to the human fly. "Look, you sometimes tend to lash out at everyone and you're usually easy to anger. But at the end of the day, you still they to do what's right even when you were accused of murder when you first started. I don't think there are many over there that can pull that off. Even on your worst day, you're still probably twice the hero that they are."
Upon hearing the words of the fellow crime fighter, JJ opened a panel on his suit's wrist. He then, to the confusion of the other vigilantes, started to press a couple of controls.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to see if my suit recorded what Rosetta said."
"Already regretting saying it."
"Let's forget that for now. May, how are you going to go pro there?" asked Regina.
"My dad, who wasn't too thrill when I told him of that, talked with Captain Celebrity since he has good connections over there. He got in contact with a pro hero that could help me with that."
"Captain Celebrity? And who did he recomended?" asked JJ.
"Some guy named Ingenium. For what I've heard he seems to be a pretty cool guy. At least enough for dad to give him the thumbs up."
"Ok, that's pretty impressive." said JJ, remembering the first time he picked Mayday for a date. He never thought that Peter Parker could be as intimidating as he was back then and now that he knew that he was Spider-Man all along, he was somehow even more intimidating than before.
"So, we know what you're going to do, we know what your mother's going to do and your baby brother is, well still a baby. What about your sister?" asked Regina.
"Still wanting to apply to a hero school there."
"Really? That's a shocker." said Rosetta.
"Aren't you afraid that they might brainwash her into becoming one of them?"
"Come on JJ, we Parker are as stubborn as stubborn gets." she replied.
That was something that everyone could agree. There has been multiple occasions in which her conviction was practically immovable.
"And what school does she plan on going?" asked Regina.
"U.A!?" asked Quicksilver in disbelief.
After fending off A.I.M, Unity Squad, alongside Spider-Man went to the team's base of operations. An old Theater courtesy of Deadpool, another one of the team's members. Once there, Spider-Man proceeded on explaining why he learned japanese. It wasn't because of a hobby like they first thought, but rather because his family was moving to Japan while he remained in the states.
That was something that surprised them all no doubt. He told them about how his wife was hoping on expanding her boutique once she was there, that Captain Celebrity helped him in Mayday's hopes of becoming a pro hero there so that she could keep doing her superhero work there with no issue and that his younger daughter Anna-May was trying to enroll in U.A.
Suffice it to say, the speed-base hero wasn't too thrilled about it.
"Dear God, call in the Avengers, the X-Men and every other hero in the world to prepare for judgement day! By now Thanos has just assembled the Infinity Gauntlet once again and is heading towards us to destroy the world! The Beyonders are probably smashing universes again all while the gates of the Cancervese are opening as we speak!" said Quicksilver in a dramatic and somewhat mocking manner.
"Really Pietro?" asked Cindy, rolling her eyes at her teammate's behavior.
"Come on, you're telling me that you don't find it weird and odd? Spider-man is the last person you would think when it comes to enrolling his kids in a hero school! And not only is he sending one of his girls to a hero school, but U.A of all places?! Hell, why not send her to Avengers Academy?"
"Or Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters." said Rougue, getting the attention of everyone in the room.
"Seriously? Rougue, look I love you guys, I really do. But let's be honest, when it comes to which one is the best hero school, Avengers Academy easily takes the cake. Besides, Charles created the place to teach mutants. Last time I checked Spidey's kids are probably not mutants and only inherited his powers. And since he's also not a mutant, I think the choice is rather obvious."
"Come on Pietro. Look, I know you've always been more attached to the Avengers than the X-Men and that's probably blinding your judgement, but let's be real. Xavier's is the better choice. Not only has the place been around longer than Avengers Academy, but Annie has already been in a few summer camps that we've hosted already. Plus, not only do we also teach kids that are not mutants, but Spidey has already been a faculty member there, which makes things even more obvious." replied Rougue, a cocky and triumphant smile on her face.
"Webs has also been a teacher at Avengers Academy. Besides, that Miles Morales and Lana Baumgartner kids are already applying there. Seeing familiar faces would probably help Annie more."
"But you know what will help her even more? Been taught how to be a badass by the likes of Wolverine, Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey and the list goes on. Only a few members of the Avengers are teaching there, while in Xavier's, you can be sure that you're being taught by the best of the best!"
"Well, who's to say you're not being taught by the best at Avengers Academy? Tigra, Wasp, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Black Knight, myself plus the special occasions in which Thor, Ironman or Captain America come by to drop some knowledge bomb. Besides, our school trips are way better. Just so you know Webs, the next excursion is going to be to the Savage Land."
"As if! Don't listen to him Spidey, we're planning on taking the kids to a Shi'Ar colony soon enough."
"Why does it feel like this stopped being about Peter's current situation?" asked Cindy, as she looked at her teammates bickering about which one was the best school.
"I stopped listening a while ago." said Gorgon, who was standing next to her.
"Guys, come on. You're acting as if Spider-Man chose this." said Christopher to the two mutants.
"Christopher is right. Spider-Man is sending his family away because he believes that that is the best course of action to protect them from danger now that his identity became public. Besides, you're acting very childish about now." the sorcerer told his two teammates.
"That's what I'm talking about! He wants to make sure his daughter is safe, so who better to keep her safe than the best there is at what they do!" said Rougue, saying the last part in a gruff voice in an attempt to imitate a certain small canadian that is easy to anger.
"If you want Annie to be safe then do not send her to Xavier's. Seriously, the place blows up so often that it became an inside joke to every single X-Men." said Pietro.
"Guys, seriously." said Falcon, finally making the two teachers stop arguing. Not without them mumbling something about a statue and the danger room.
"In all honesty, I'm not that fond of the idea either. I even tried to talk her out of it for months but she didn't budge one bit."
"Now, who does that sound like?" said Cindy, a smile on her face and with the rest of the team all nodding and chuckling.
"As I was saying…" said Spider-Man, glaring at the rest of the heroes. "She's dead center on going there and since I can't change her mind, I might as well try to support her."
"Well, if that's the case then tell her she has my support." said Falcon
"As well as mine." said Gorgon with then everyone else nodding as well.
"Thanks."
"So, when are they moving?" asked Synapse.
"The day after tomorrow. The entrance exam is in February so if they want to get used to Japan before U.A's school year starts."
"Then… why don't you take tomorrow off?" said Cindy.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"She's right man, have some R&R tomorrow."
"Quicksilver, since when do superheroes have vacations?"
"They do in Japan."
"I'm not going to Japan."
"You know what Christopher meant."
"And who is going to keep the city safe?"
"You're right, it's not like New York is known for being a city filled with a bunch of heroes going around like Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, the New, New Warriors. Do I have to keep going?"
"No one likes a smart-ass Rougue."
"Oh, but it's okay when you do it?"
"No. No it is not. All of you have told me that at least once."
"Spider-Man, think about it. Tomorrow may as well be the last day you will get to spend with your family. You should take the opportunity before it's too late." said Voodoo, trying to convince the arachnid hero of it.
"... You really think that'll be ok?"
"Well… I know I would." said Captain Celebrity, remembering his own son and wife.
"Look Webs, if there is one thing that most of us can agree on, is that most of us had crappy childhoods. Either be parents dying because of some freak accident, being persecuted for some dumb reason or even being afraid of been who we are. You are no exception and because of that, I'm sure that you have done everything within your power to give your kids the life that most of us never could have had. So yeah, go be with them." said Pietro, with the rest of heroes all nodding to the words of the silver bullet.
Peter himself thought very carefully about what the team of heroes had to say. In all honesty, they haven't been the first people to tell him that. He spoke with the Fantastic Four a couple of weeks ago and they had said similar things. Sue encouraged him to no end while Reed said that if there was one thing he regrets more than anything, was the fact that he sometimes didn't spend as much time with his kids because of work. Sure, they are a surprisingly functional family, but Reed always thought that he could have been there for his kids more. He encountered Hulk once and even though it was one of the more childish versions of the green goliath, he did say something along the lines of 'Bug man, good dad. Hulk approves of that'.
Even Daredevil said the same thing. With him in particular saying something that definitely sticked:
"Peter, we both lost our parents to some dumb criminal with a gun and for dumb reasons. Do you know the one thing that I wanted the day that I buried him?... It was to have one last moment, just the two of us… I'm sure that you felt the same when your uncle was killed and also when your aunt died years ago. So please, spend as much time as you can with them. Give them what we never could have had."
He did want that. He wanted to do that above anything else. But… he had a responsibility to the city as Spider-Man. Was it really ok for him just to not help for just one day? Sure when he was younger he did sometimes on occasions spend a day or two just as Peter Parker, but at the same time he was also thinking about how to stop the big baddie that was loose at the moment. The times he stopped wearing the suit were on multiple occasions when he fell down on himself and temporarily quitted being Spider-Man for whatever reason he had back then. Now those, they felt like dumb excuses that he made to himself not to be a hero. Which is why deep down he was afraid to do it now that his identity became public. That he would somehow find a way to use that as an excuse to quit being a hero.
Sure he thought about that when his daughters and son were born as well. But he kept on using the suit because of them. Because he wanted them to live in a safer world that the one he grew up in. Because he loved his family more than anything else in the world.
And with so many heroes telling to be with his family on what may as well be the last time they get to be together for a long time, well… maybe it really was ok for him to have a break to be with them.
"You know Pietro, you can sometimes be pretty smart." said the wall crawler.
"Indeed. Quite frankly, it amazes me to know that he can use his brain from time to time." said Gorgon.
Everyone chuckled or simply straight up laughed at the comments of both the arachnid and inhuman heroes with the obvious exception of the white-haired speedster, who glared at everyone in the room.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?! Seriously, I'm trying to be helpful and this is what I get?!"
"Sorry, force of habit." said Peter, finally calming down and placing a hand on Quicksilver's shoulder. "But in all honesty thank you, all of you. I needed to hear that."
Pietro sighed and smiled back to the friendly neighborhood. "I guess I had it coming from my earlier reaction, so don't sweat it." he said, with an idea suddenly crossing his mind literally faster than the speed of light. "Buuuut if you really want to make it up to me, you could always ditch the whole 'sending your kid to the other side of the globe' thing and enroll her at Avengers Academy."
"And that's my cue to leave. Well, it was nice to chat with you guys but I have to go. You know how things are; catching thieves just like flies, making plans for tomorrow and making sure that the family pets are all nice and healthy before leaving. Especially considering that one of them is an interdimensional creature with a collar that contains Pym particles that control his size. So goodbye." said Spider-Man before leaving the theater.
"Really Pietro? What exactly were you expecting?" asked Sam Wilson to the season Avenger.
"Yeah, seriously Pietro. If for some reason he suddenly ditches the whole 'sending his family to the other side of the planet to keep them safe' thing then he would obviously send Annie to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters." said Rougue, crossing her arms with a smug smile on her face.
"The same goes to you!" the other heroes thought in unison.
It was the next day.
Annie was waking up and when she opened her eyes, she saw her and her sister's room almost completely empty. No longer did it have the posters, photos and what have you all around. No, instead her eyes saw the empty walls and their nightstands with nothing but a lamp on top of each.
It was something that did saddened her, for today may as well be the last time she wakes up in that very same room. The same room she shared with her sister all her life, in the same house that they were raised since birth. She was trying to think of something to do for the day to distract her from that thought, but her mind was completely empty. She then turned to the other side of the room to see her sister still sleeping.
Maybe she had something in mind.
Just as she was about to go and wake her up, she caught a quite pleasant smell. Something that a decent amount of people didn't know (and something that she sometimes tends to forget since she has lived like that for her entire life) was the fact that she, her father and sister all had enhanced senses.
While not as enhanced as Daredevil's senses, they could still hear, see, and smell better than the average person. While sometimes having enhanced senses was quite annoying, it was moments like this that made her grateful to have them. It also seems like Mayday must have felt the same since the smell woke her from her sleep.
"Sleep well?" she asked her sister who was rubbing her eyes, finally awake.
"I did. But not as good as whatever that smell is." replied the elder of the Parker sisters.
Annie nodded and then turned her head to her night stand where a certain reptilian resided. "Come on Speedy, let's go down and get some breakfast." she said, picking her tortoise pet.
The two sisters quickly headed downstairs and instantly were greeted by the other family pet. Gog, the interdimensional creature that could best be described as a mix between a monkey, a lizard and probably a troll.
The Tslin creature jumped on top of Mayday's head and then to Annie's. They chuckled at him before he signaled for them to follow him downstairs.
They did since they were still hungry. One on the dining room, they saw the table set up with their breakfast. It was nothing that special, well that is if you think the world's best pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, at least two kinds of pies and freshly squeezed orange juice wasn't special.
"Morning girls, hungry?" asked Peter to his daughters.
"Like you have no idea. Did you do all of this?" asked Mayday.
"Well, I did have some help." said Peter, looking at his former villainous giant-monster. "Isn't that right Gog?"
The Tslin nodded and then went upstairs again to see if a certain red-head and baby were now awake.
"This smells amazing dad." said Annie.
"To be honest, I wanted to do more, but I panicked at the last minute and decided to do this."
"Hey, if we can eat your pancakes then who cares." said May with her sister nodding. If there was one thing they did when they were younger was brag that their father made the best pancakes in the world.
It didn't take long before a woman with bright red hair and emerald green eyes came to the dining room with a brown-haired baby in her arms. Those would be the beautiful Mary Jane and the joyful little Ben, who was happily trying to pet the Tslin that was right next to them.
"Well, I was wondering what that smell was." said May Jane, walking to her husband and kissing him on the lips. "Morning tiger."
"Morning MJ." he said before taking his son in his arms and lifting him in the air. "And a very good morning to you little guy!"
His son giggled and the rest of his family smiled at the scene. At the moment, no one thought, nor wanted to think about the fact that this will be the last time the Parker family would enjoy breakfast together. No, right now they all wanted to live the moment.
"I hope none of you have any plans for today, because we're going to have some good old family quality time together."
"Well, I was planning on patro-" said Mayday but got interrupted when her phone rang. Picking it up, she read a text message from JJ that said: 'You better not be thinking of coming today. Because if you do, I'll personally take you back home so that you can spend some time with your family'. Mayday took a glance to her father, who smiled back at her. She simply sighed, a smile on her face before returning her phone. "On second thought, I think I'm free. Where exactly are we going to?"
"Around. The weather is very nice, so I was thinking of simply sight-seeing."
"Sight-seeing? Isn't that something that tourists do?" asked Mayday.
"Yeah, but I thought we could try it. Who knows, it might be fun."
"I'm fine with it. That is of course once I've eaten this!" said Annie about to take a seat, but was interrupted by his mother.
"Hold your horses young lady. Did you wash your hands?"
"Of course I did!" she said, about to take a couple of pancakes. That was at least until she felt her mother's gaze upon her. It was the gaze that only a mother could pull off. The kind that would make even Dr. Doom himself nervous. "... Fine I didn't, but neither did Mayday."
"Snitch!"
"Wash your hands. The two of you." she ordered, with the two girls soon heading for the bathroom.
"If only they listen to me like that."
"You have your powers, I have mine." she told him with a cocky smile.
Peter was right, the weather was quite nice.
The family went around with even Gog and Speedy tagging along. First, they went to Central Park to enjoy the beauty of the park. They got into a snowball fight, made a snowman with what they could find and even played fetch with Gog. Unfortunately for them,he refused to return the stick, so Annie had to try and wrestle it out of his jaws.
Gog ended up winning at the end. Annie laying on the ground with twirling eyes with her sister laughing and taking a couple of pictures with her phone.
Next, they went to the Rockefeller Center so that they could ice skate for a bit. It was something that they rarely did and a normal family would have ended up falling on. Their back quite a lot. Luckily for the Parker they were anything but normal (whether that was a good or a bad thing was still up for debate). Having spider powers did help quite a bit and while they were far from being experts, they had no difficulty whatsoever. Even Mary Jane showed that she was no push over (then again, she was kind of cheating since he was using a special bracelet that allowed her to tap into a small fraction of Peter's powers).
Gog himself was a fun time, even though he kept on falling a bit at the beginning. He ended up getting the hang of it later on, but decided to rather sit comfortable on Peter's shoulder. Even Speedy seemed to be having fun… maybe… well, at least according to Annie.
They even encountered a family of fans of the arachnid hero. Apparently, Peter saved the mother many years ago. She was pregnant back then and was about to get crushed by a taxi that was thrown in her direction by some villain. Peter, as Spider-Man, caught it, saving both the driver and the soon to be mother and took care of the villain in a matter of minutes. The woman was incredibly grateful by his actions and asked for the name of her savior.
Naturally, he had to decline but the woman insisted. Telling him that she was expecting a boy and that as a way of showing her gratitude, she wanted to name his son after the man that saved her. She wanted her son to be a man of good and so what better way to make sure that happens than by naming him after Spider-Man? Back then he still had his secret identity so of course he once again had to politely decline, telling her that he simply did what anyone in his place would have done.
Still, she persisted and even promised him that she wouldn't tell anyone about his secret identity. Seeing her detention, he finally accepted and so he said: 'It's Ben.'
That was well over a decade ago and now in front of them, was the same woman, her husband and a boy that was almost the same age as Annie. Benjamin, or Ben for short. A boy that was named after a great hero.
It was his second name so he technically didn't lie. Although, known only to those close to him, the boy was not named after the Friendly Neighborhood, but rather he was actually named by the man responsible for raising said hero. Peter knew that the boy was named after a man that he considered greater than him in every way.
His uncle Ben, the strongest man he had ever known.
They had some small talk and even took pictures together before bidding each other farewell.
After visiting a few other places and taking a couple of family pictures, the family decided to go and eat a couple of hot dogs since it was a bit late. It was a simple meal, but one that they all enjoyed.
They all kept on sight-seeing for a bit more. In the meantime, they all saw heroes either soaring through the skies or racing through the streets. But not just any heroes; they all saw the likes of Ironman himself flying with the help of his red and golden armor. Next to him, was the God of Thunder himself. Thor, with his enchanted Uru hammer Mjölnier in one hand.
They also saw the Fantastic Car with the members of the Hero family all flying inside of it, with the exceptions of the Human Torch and that same winged woman that returned with them from their space expedition, flying oddly close to the youngest of the Storm siblings. Some time later, they saw the Black Knight, besting a couple of criminals with the aid of his winged stallion and his mystic sword, the Ebony blade.
After hours of walking and sight-seeing, it was almost dusk. At first the Parker sisters and their mother thought about going back home. After all, they had to catch a plane the next day. But Peter told them that there was one last place that he wanted to take them.
To their surprise, he gave them a pair of web shooters each with the exception of Annie since she refused to use them before passing the U.A entrance exam and Benjy since… well, he's a baby.
Then, he guided them all to the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers of the city, one tall enough for them to see New York almost in its entirety. The orange light of dusk beautifully illuminated the city before everything went dark. Once the sun sunk, the city that never slept became illuminated by its own lights and the Parker family watched in awe at what New York had to offer.
Tomorrow might as well be one of the saddest days of their life, but today… today they simply wanted to enjoy the time they had together.
The next day.
It was early in the morning. The sun had yet to come out and the air was still quite cold. On any normal day, the Parker family might as well be found still sleeping in their beds. Maybe Peter and Mayday would have woken up early and had an early patrol while their family got up. However today was no ordinary day. Today… was the last day of their lives in New York.
They were on the airport about to board the plane, suitcases and everything. Their flight was about to leave in twenty minutes and with them were some of their closest friends who were there to bid the farewell one last time.
From JJ to his grandfather, Flash Thompson and his daughter Felicity. Phill Urich, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Peter's sister Theresa, the Morales family, Gloria and her son Jermaine as well as Liz Allen and her family. They were all there to try and show their support to the family that was sadly about to split up.
"You sure you have everything?" asked Flash to his long -time friends.
"Yeah, we… we got everything Flash, thanks." replied Mary Jane, taking an obvious glance at her husband, who was unfortunately not going with them.
"You know MJ, we might still have time to get you to first class if you want to. Or we could even lend you our private jet if you want." said Liz, who was currently the C.E.O of Alchemax. Company that once used to be the infamous Oscorp.
"No, it's fine really. We would like to feel normal for today." she replied.
"See you guys." said Annie somberly to the group of people in front of her.
"See you Annie, and don't worry. I'm no longer the kid you had to look after when we were younger. So, just focus on getting in on that U.A thing." said Jermaine to his best friend.
"And if for some reason someone tries to talk shit 'bout you. Well then, I'll simply fly over there and blow the bastard to bits." said Lana.
Excessive, maybe. But that was simply her way to show that she cared.
"I don't think you'll get the chance to do that. By the time you get there, I'm pretty sure Annie would have already settled things down." said Normie.
"Remember the pact that we made?" asked Miles, lifting his right arm and showing the silver bracelet-like gadget on his wrist.
"Believe me, that's something that I'll never forget." she replied, patting her backpack, where the other web shooter was.
"Go and show them what a true hero looks like May." said JJ to his fellow crime fighter partner.
"You bet she will! I can already see the headlines: Spider-Girl! Sensational Heroine that puts All Might to Shame!" said Jonah.
Even till this day, it was still somewhat odd to see the man that constantly belittle Spider-Man being so supportive to his daughter. Then again, not only did he change a long time ago, but he was surprisingly always supportive of Spider-Girl.
"Don't you think you might be exaggerating a little bit mister Jameson?" she asked.
"Nonsense!"
"Well, that only shows just how much he believes in you. The same goes for everyone else and don't worry. I'll keep an eye on your dad." said Phill, the former criminal turned vigilante.
"Thanks uncle Phill."
"If I'm being honest, I whole-heartly agree with mister Jameson. I'm sure that in no time you will become the top hero!" exclaimed the silver-haired girl.
"Just remember that if you ever need something, we are just a phone call away." said Gloria.
"That and an entire ocean." said Theresa.
"She really is Peter's sister, right Matt?" whispered Foggy to his fellow lawyer.
"Definitely." he replied, noting that her comment was something that Peter would have said in any other situation.
Speaking of him, Peter looked at his family with a sad expression. No one could really blame him after all, he was separating himself from his family in an attempt of keeping them safe from his enemies. Knowing that they would probably want to have a moment for themselves, they all bid them one final farewell before leaving the airport, leaving the Parker family by themselves.
"Well then, I guess this is it." said Peter, sadness feeling his voice.
"... I don't want to do this." softly said Annie.
"Neither do I… but who knows, maybe I can try and calm things out over here. And once that's done… then we can be together again." said Peter, trying to ease the situation.
After a few minutes of silence, Peter looked at his elder daughter, fighting the urge of crying as to not make things harder than they already were, he began to speak to her.
"Mayday… when I was fifteen my uncle died because of me. So, I had to become the man of the house at an early age. I got a job all for the purpose of helping my aunt pay the bills. It's a very big responsibility… and when you told me that you were going to try and become a pro to try and help out… I felt awful. I never wanted to drop on you such a burden. I hope you can forgive me for it, but I also want you to know that a part of me did feel proud of you, because it made me see just how much you've grown as a person. It feels like just yesterday you were that sweet little girl that used to lip sync her favorite songs on the radio, but now… now you're a strong, responsible and caring young woman that is always ready to lend a hand to those that need it." he could feel that his eyes would soon start to water, yet he didn't care. He moved closer to her and softly placed one hand on her shoulder and another on her cheek. "I am so proud of being the father to someone like you."
Tears were already forming on the eyes of the elder Parker girl. She placed a hand on top of the hand that was on her cheek and squeezed it just like when she was a young little girl that just had a nightmare. "I-I… I'm proud of being your daughter too." she said, her voice breaking down a bit.
Peter smiled and after a few seconds he moved towards his second daughter. "Annie… being a superhero is not just something that someone does on a whim. It's a lifestyle… a promise to those around you that you will always try to do everything within your power and more to keep them safe. So that they can go back to their loved ones and live another day with them. But it's also a dangerous lifestyle, one with so many dangers with so many awful consequences that I don't want to say. To be a hero is to make sacrifices, which is why I never wanted you to live that live." he said, placing both hands on her shoulders. "But… it does make me happy knowing that I did a good job in raising you to be a good person. Maybe a little too good of a job."
He and Annie chuckled a little bit at that. To think that this will be the last time they get to laugh at one of her dad's jokes.
"If… if you're really serious about becoming a hero, then I'll support you with all my heart. I'll root for you and cheer you on louder than anyone else… with the exception of your mother of course." he said, taking a glance at his wife, who smiled at him with watery eyes. "You girls, along with your brother are my pride and joy and I know for a fact, that U.A will get lucky to have someone as splendid and bright as you as a student." he said, already sure that she would get admitted to Japan's top hero school.
"Not as lucky as I am… for having you as my dad." she said, tears pouring down her cheeks.
Peter smiled, his eyes already crystallized. Still he did not allow himself to cry just yet. He walked towards Mary Jane who placed their son on his arms. The boy was peacefully asleep, unaware of the heartbreaking situation that his family was in. "Benjy… you're still too young to understand anything that I'm about to say and that's ok. Right now, you should just worry about sleeping, playing and being ass carefree while you can." he started to say, his voice already starting to break down and the tears already showing signs that they were about to burst. "I'll do what I can for us to be whole again… but if I end up failing then at least you'll get to grow up, hopefully having a life alongside your sisters and mother… If that happens, then you'll probably hate me, but I won't hold it against you. You'll have the right to be mad at me, because there's a chance that I'll end up missing your first words, the first steps you take, overall, there's a chance that I'll miss your life as you grow up… If I'm honest, the only person that'll be angrier at me than you will be me. If that happens then I'll probably hate myself for letting this happen. I'm probably a terrible father… but I just want you to know that no matter what happens... I want you to know that your father loved you, your sisters and your mother so, so, so much." he said, no longer able to contain the emotions within him as he finally allowed himself to cry.
The same could be said about his family as both Annie and Mayday rushed in and hugged their father with all their strength. Tears poured down their faces as their grip grew tighter by the second.
"W-we love you too dad!" they both said as Peter quickly embraced his daughters.
"Y-you guys… you're my jackpot." he said softly, holding the two girls and his son close to his chest. Soon enough, Mary Jane and Gog quickly joined in the family embrace.
Peter's grip on his family was strong, stronger than even that of his daughters combined. He wanted that moment to last for an eternity, to hold his kids and wife and know that he would always be with them in their time of need, not wanting to ever let go. But, unfortunately for him he knew that the moment in which he had to let go of his family would eventually happen soon enough. After minutes together, that moment finally came. They all forced themselves to let go, their eyes red and with tears still running down their faces like waterfalls. He then looked at his wife as she looked back at him, their eyes looking into one another, reading each other like an open book, for they knew the other better than they knew themselves. They then embraced each other once more, connecting their lips in one last passionate kiss.
Words weren't needed, just that action, that simple show of affection and true love was more than enough for them. They remained like that for a little over a minute until finally, they slowly started to separate from each other. Locking into each other's eyes Mary Jane nodded and he nodded back. Hesitantly, they took a step away from each other, for they knew that if they remained that close from each other any minute longer, then they would not be able to allow themselves from separating once again.
Peter then looked at the Tslin, who just like the rest of the family had tears falling down his roguish skin. "Please… take care of them for me." he asked.
Gog nodded back, vowing to himself that he would not allow what happened to his original owner to happen to the family of his new owner.
For another couple of minutes they stared at each other before finally taking their separate paths. Because of the time they spent, the wait for them to enter the aircraft was almost nonexistent. They were silently thankful, knowing that the longer they remained on the airport, the more it would hurt them.
Mary Jane sat alongside May, Benjy and Gog, who was thankfully allowed to fly alongside them. Annie though, she had to seat on apart from her family, being on another row of sits. She was next to the window and with her backpack on hand. She then pulled something out of it, a homemade Spider-Man plush toy that she used to sleep with when she was younger.
Just seeing the image of her father, even if it was his alter ego caused a couple of tears to form on her eyes once again. Yet she quickly dispatched them with her sleeve. 'I cried my fair share today' she thought to herself. What she said before was true, she was lucky to have Peter Benjamin Parker as her father and it was because of that reason that she could not allow herself to cry any longer. She admired her father beyond belief, just like her sister. While most kids grew up looking up to the likes of the Avengers, All Might, Ryuk, the X-Men and so much more, Annie and Mayday looked up to their father and mother. In their eyes, they were heroes that surpassed even the Avengers themselves. In their eyes, they were Earth's Mightiest Heroes. And it was because of that that they had to be strong.
Strong for them, so that they could be strong themselves.
After finally calming down, the young red-headed girl looked at her plush toy and smiled. Today might as well be one of the saddest days of her life, but it was also the beginning of a new chapter in her life. One in which she would work her way towards her dream and make her family proud.
Some time passed and soon all of the passengers boarded the plane. A woman with blonde hair then sat on the seat next to Annie. She pulled out a pair of headphones and connected them on the small T.V screen in front of her. The woman seemed to try and find a way to make the small T.V last for the flight, since once the plane takes off, the T.V would turn off an/or show nothing but airplane commercials.
"Umm miss, do you need help?" she asked.
The woman turned to her and gave her a weak smile. "If it ain't too much trouble. Sorry, but technology ain't exactly my strongest suit." she said in what seemed to be a texan accent.
"Don't worry, it's ok." she said politely before telling her how it worked. "You see here? This is so that you can slide either a credit or debit card there and once that's done the T.V will unlock itself for the remaining of the flight." she explained.
The woman looked at the young girl and then at the T.V. She then pulled out her purse and took out a credit card and slided it where Annie indicated. There was then a red light that flashed for a bit before turning green, indicating that it worked. The woman smiled and just as Annie was about to say something the woman slided her credit card on Annie's T.V as well, much to her surprise.
"Wow… umm miss, thank you, but there really wasn't any need for that." she said.
"Don't worry girl, it was my way of saying thanks for helping this clueless gal. Besides, it's going to be quite the long flight, so I thought that ya could use it."
"Oh… well, thanks but I was planning on sleeping for a bit to be honest."
"I know that ya kids nowadays are known for sleeping a lot, but we'll be on here for what? Ten? Twelve hours? Ya're going to wake up eventually." she explained.
Her logic did make sense, so at the end Annie smiled and accepted. "Well, I guess it would be rude to decline."
"That's the spirit little girl!" she said, giving her a thumbs up. "By the way, if ya need some headphones I have some spare. I don't know if they give off a pair or if they're any good."
"Don't worry miss, I have a pair of my own with me." she said, pulling a pair from her backpack.
"Ok, by the way, I was wondering where are ya from?"
"I'm from here actually. A New Yorker through and through. See?" she said, pulling her Mets cap from her backpack.
"A Mets fan huh? I thought ya would be more of a Yankees fan."
"Well, yeah I can see why most people would believe that, but to be honest my dad was always a Mets fan. So I guess it was only natural that I would become a fan myself."
"Makes sense. Something like that also happened to me and my siblings. Our old man almost indoctrinated us into becoming loyal fans of the Dallas Cowboys. I'm from Texas by the way, if the accent didn't give it away."
"You have siblings?"
"Yup! One of them moved to Japan and started a family there and had a girl. Reason to which why I'm going there. Took a flight from Texas to here and slept through most of it. How 'bout you?"
"Two siblings. An older sister that's about four years older and a baby brother. We're here with our mom and are moving to Musutafu."
"Well, ain't that a coincidence. My niece actually lives there." she said, noticing the Spider-Man plush doll. "For what I see ya seem to be a hero fan, or am I mistaken?"
"Well, you would be right actually."
"Nice! You know, my niece is planning on going to U.A, any chance that ya planing on going there?" she asked.
"I am actually."
"Well, then you might encounter her there. Her name's Pony. Pony Tsunotori."
"Hopefully I can meet her at U.A."
"I could tell her 'bout ya if ya want."
"Oh, well my name's…" Annie started to say, but froze for a moment. Would it be a good thing to tell the woman her name? She already said some things, but would it be really ok to tell her her name? That's without mentioning the fact that there's a chance that the woman would make the connection to her father. Then again, the woman did tell her the name of her niece, so she shouldn't be impolite. Besides, maybe she's just overreacting. "My name is Anna-May Parker, but most people call me Annie."
The woman made a double take on the girl after hearing her name, more specifically her last name. Looking once more at the Spider-Man plush doll the woman smiled at the girl. "Well Annie, I wish ya the best of luck. Hopefully ya and my niece can get along."
"I hope the same and thanks miss." said Annie.
Just then they heard that they were about to take off and were told the safety procedures. Once that was done and after a couple of minutes passed by the plane started to move and after just a couple of seconds they started to ascend. Annie looked out the window as the airport started to become smaller and smaller by the second. She couldn't help but to contemplate on the scenery and about her current situation.
This was it.
The end of her old life and start of a new one on the other side of the world.
What laid ahead of her now somewhat frightened her, but at the same time intrigued her. Yes, she was saying goodbye to some of her old friends, but she was also going to make new ones. Sure, she was going to be able to go to her favorite places, but she could add some new ones once they arrived… Of course she was saying goodbye to her father and there was the possibility that she wouldn't be able to be with him in quite some time… but she was also on her way of making her dreams come true. And one day, she would return to New York and show her father all the progress that she made.
She will make him proud.
Her name is Anna-May Parker… and her story has only just begun.
