Walking in no specific direction, Peter was crestfallen over the events on the roof, not paying much attention to what was happening around him. He flipped through the pages of his notebook, observing the diagrams and notes of the different heroes he'd seen witnessed fighting; be it live or on the internet.
Groot…
"He'll never be a hero, better someone tell him now rather then later…"
The new Ant-Man…
"You serious? Puny Parker wants to go to M.A!?"
Until he reached Iron Man's signature.
"Maybe life decided you won't become a hero…"
"You knew it…" The boy muttered bitterly to himself. "Deep down you always knew there was no way. Why did I keep trying after all those years? Flash was right, it's just a stupid dream that'll never work out. Even now, when a Quirk literally falls into my lap, I don't get to keep it-"
Suddenly, he heard a crash. It came from somewhere nearby. He turned in the direction of the noise, and saw a crowd of people across the street. At the mouth of an alley, maybe that was where the tremors came from. His feet had taken him there without meaning to and he crossed the street.
Why did I come here? My notes are useless now, what could I-
The words died in his mind and his eyes widened when he recognized the villain responsible for all the commotion. It was the same one who attacked him just over an hour ago: Carnage.
"Wait, it can't be, I saw Iron Man capture him! I-" Then he remembered the containment chamber that Tony had trapped the psychopath in. He also remembered clearly how it wasn't with him when they spoke on the roof. It all becomes clear to the boy. He must've dropped it. It's all my fault...
"Why aren't the heroes doing anything?" Peter asked a person in the crowd.
"Apparently, the heroes are no match for this one," he replied. "Plus, the villain captured a kid, things aren't looking too good for him..."
"He captured someone?" Peter recalled his own experience. "I wonder how long he's been there?"
"Wait, I'm confused," said another guy from the crowd, "Wasn't that the same villain Iron Man was chasing this morning?"
"What? Iron Man!? Really? So where is he!?" Asked someone else.
"Well, can anyone call him or something?" A woman added.
"Seriously, why hasn't he come and help these heroes?" Another one questioned.
On the opposite side of the crowd, Tony, listening to all these comments, could do nothing but sink deeper into his own thoughts. People were depending on him, and there he was, unable to do anything. "Pathetic..." The hero blamed himself.
Likewise, the brown haired boy was also drowning in his emotions: pain, guilt, sadness, fear. This is all my fault, he thought. If I hadn't made Iron Man waste all that time talking to me...
I'm useless... Thought Tony, pulling his hood up even more while placing his hand over the reactor, cursing it.
He can't wear the armor, and none of the other heroes has a quirk suitable for facing Carnage... Come on, there's gotta be something that can be done. Isn't there another hero around!? The boy felt the weight of his actions fall on his shoulders, the weight of a life in his hands. And yet, he clung to the little flame of hope in his heart, desperately not knowing what else to do.
"I-I'm not a real hero..." Peter muttered, trying to snap himself out of it. "Someone, a real hero will come..." He tried to justify himself, grasping that faint hope again. But then, he heard the hostage grunt, it was a familiar noise.
Then Peter saw it; a familiar head of blonde hair was hair was recognizable in the middle of the red goo. The victim struggled to survive, until he opens his eyes. It was Flash Thompson, the boy who tormented him for years. His classmate and former friend. And in a single, fleeting moment, his gray eyes made contact with Peter's, as if pleading.
"...Help me..."
The boy didn't think twice, or at all really. His hand dropped the notebook and it fell open, his legs moving on their own as he charged out from the crowd. Tony's eyes widened as the scene unfolded, as did the other heroes'. It was completely unexpected, and once rational thought returned to Peter's brain, he was already halfway to the villain and Flash.
"NO!!! YOU IDIOT!!!" Screamed Thing at the boy.
"YOU'LL END UP KILLING YOURSELF!!!" Rocket yelled after him.
But Peter didn't care, or even listen. Something raw and instinctual had taken over and the one thing in his mind was getting over to the villain.
"So it's you again!!" Recognized the villain.
"Pa-Parker?" Flash was only seconds away from passing out, but the moment he recognized the approaching figure, his eyes widened.
What am I doing!? The boy thought to himself, recovering a little of his conscience. Why am I running? And to save FLASH of all people!?
"Now you die!" Yelled Carnage, shooting tendrils at the boy.
Suddenly, a tingling sensation ran up Peter's neck, and he began to dodge the sharp, red protrusions. Slipping, weaving, even jumping over one of them to get closer to the monster.
How the hell am I doing this!? What do I do now!? His mind was racing, yet his body was moving on instinct. He had to improvise a strategy, What would a hero do??
Carnage prepared to slam a giant hand on top of the boy. The tingling sensation returned, and Peter leapt out of the way, harder and higher than he intended. He was heading for a concrete wall and he had no way of stopping.
Once again, the tingle seemed to direct what the boy should do. Twisting his body around, he landed high up in the wall, his hands and feet sticking to the surface.
"Huh!?" Carnage was taken aback by these new developments, before launching another tendril at Peter, this one shaped more like an ax. The tingle told him to jump, and Peter leapt even higher towards the villain.
His mind went to his notebook, Create a distraction!
"Take that!" The boy grabbed his yellow backpack and swung it into the villain's big eyes. The attack itself wasn't too powerful, but it hit the target dead on and Carnage howled with pain.
He went back and forth with his head and body, absorbing the impact and releasing the part that prevented Flash from breathing. The boy inhaled deeply and started coughing.
"Flash!" Peter called, landing in front of his classmate and frantically pulling the goo off of him.
"What the-?" Flash said, barely comprehending the situation. "Why're you here!?"
"Hell, I dont know! This seemed like a good time!!" Parker quipped sarcastically, still trying to remove the goo that held his classmate. "Come on, Flash!! You've gotta pull yourself out!!!"
"I'm...trying!!!" Yelled the boy, straining against his bonds. "This shit won't let me go!! Get out of here, nerd! Before it gets you too!!!"
Peter grabbed Flash's exposed hand and pulled, "I thought you were all about getting into M.A! You were gonna leave us all in the dust!! Do you really wanna go out like this!? Now fight, you moron!!!"
Flash's eyes widened at Peter's boldness, and to his shock, the boy was managing to pull him from the mass of goo. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get his arm freed.
This shouldn't be possible! Thought Flash. He was never this strong!!! But he pushed the thoughts away and refocused on getting control of his Quirk back. Flash shot a tendril of his own into the ground, attempting to pull himself out.
"I don't know why I did what I did..." Peter went on, pulling at Flash's other arm with all his might.
The voices from his past intermingled. His classmates teasing him. His own voice as a child full of hopes and dreams. His Aunt and Uncle consoling and supporting him. The doctor pointing out the harsh reality. Iron Man, telling him that he couldn't be a hero.
"Maybe I'm not meant to be a hero..." Peter glared with grim determination, "But I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!!!"
Flash's eyes widened as his upper body became free. And from the crowd, Tony heard the boy's words.
"Enough of this crap!!!" Carnage recomposed himself lunged towards the boys, ready to end it once and for all.
The tingle came back again, and Peter could predict where Carnage's head was going to be. The mouth was wide open and ready to devour the boy's head. And then, in an act of pure self-defense, Peter shot out his arm towards the monster.
But something else happened. It was as if something began to grow inside the boy's forearm, something that wanted to leave. Peter didn't notice, but a vein had grown inside his arm. Like a snake that moved in a straight line towards his fist, with a loud THWIP! It suddenly escaped, piercing the boy's wrist from the inside out.
Peter yelled in pain, blood spurting out. And a line of thin, white substance shot out of the wound. But it was something solid, a thread, a fiber... a web. It came into contact with the villain's face and spread, covering his face completely; closing his mouth and blinding him.
For a moment, Carnage was completely distracted as he tried to rip off the webbing. And with the rest of his strength, Peter used that moment to pull Flash free from the clutches of the monster. They fell over backwards, breathing heavily.
"T-The kid's out!!" Thing couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Quick you two, get up and run!!!"
But it was to no avail, the monster ripped the webbing off and surged their way. He was mad. "ALRIGHT KID, NOW YOU'VE PISSED ME OFF!!!" Carnage roared.
But before he could strike, a familiar red and gold figure lands in front of the boys. Iron Man protected the boys with a blue energy shield, which blocked Carnage's arm.
"Friday," he whispered to his A.I. "Decrease vital functions by 20% and prep the Sonic Cannon!"
"Sir, I should warn you-"
"Just do it!!!"
"Iron Man…" Peter said.
"I'm a lousy inspiration," Tony began. "I've gotta admit, I wasn't following my own teachings very well..."
He shoved Carnage's arm aside, disabling the shield and started to form something else in his right arm. His left arm reached out began to merge with the weapons forming.
"We pros have to take chances sometimes," he exclaimed. "Because that's what heroes do!"
At the end of Iron Man's arms was a larger version of the last device he had used to disintegrate the villain. But this one occupied both of the hero's entire forearms. He cocks them back and a sonic wave blasts out into the villain.
Carnage became completely disintegrated and a huge gust of wind blows around him, making Ant-Man create a barricade with his arms so the crowd and the other heroes wouldn't be carried off by the force of the blast. The wind was strong enough to create a small tornado, but that soon dissipated.
Standing tall in the same pose that had destroyed the villain, Iron Man retracted his weapon as the two boys laid out behind him. They were both exhausted from the shared experience, but Flash had something on his mind.
"Parker..." He said, breathing hard. "How did you... do all that?"
"I-I don't know," Peter replied, panting heavily. "It's like... my body reacted on its own!"
Flash looked the boy over as he began to sit up, there was definitely something different about him. And it wasn't just the fact that his glasses had fallen off. His eyes widened when he noticed something, "You're bleeding."
Peter looked down, there was a small hole in his wrist, and it was bleeding pretty badly. He cringed as the pain caught up to him, and he quickly covered the wound with his free hand.
"Move," said Flash bluntly.
Peter skeptically lifted his hand as Flash extended his own. A piece of black tendril leapt off his body and wrapped itself around Peter's wound, stopping the bleeding.
"T-Thanks," said Peter.
But the blond didn't respond. Just then, they began to feel raindrops falling from the sky. Pedestrians and heroes looked up, the clouds were moving in the same direction like a cyclone. Iron Man had essentially changed the weather with a single punch.
Everyone began to shout and applaud the Number One Hero, and though he was breathing hard inside the armor, Iron Man raised his arm as a sign of victory. The crowd went even crazier, as the hero looked on at young Peter. He was still somewhat catatonic from the whole experience, but otherwise ok. The boy's actions gave Tony a lot to think about now, and not a lot of time to do it...
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Barber's Chair
• So, that happened! Right out of the gate, Flash sees that Peter has a Quirk now, not waiting until later to find out.
• Yup, I gave Peter organic webbing. But in this case, it's a bit of a handicap, similarly to when Deku doesn't hold back OFA. How will he cope with this drawback to his new Quirk?
