The funeral was held a few days later. The entire neighborhood showed up to pay respects to the man regarded by many as one of the finest. Even Flash Thompson showed up at the cemetery, much to Peter's shock. He said only one thing to the boy, "He was a good guy, better than my old man..."

For the next few weeks, Peter's mind was in a haze. He hadn't been going to Fogwell's Gym or meeting with Tony Stark. In fact, he'd turned his phone off, not wanting to deal with the world. The M.A Entrance Exam was only a few weeks away, but Peter didn't care. He was seriously considering giving up on the hero's path.

What kind of hero lets innocent people die? He had thought. They were right, they were all right... I'm not meant to be a hero...

The boy started wearing his uncle's old letterman jacket. It didn't help much with the hot July weather, and the red and blue colors were pretty faded. But the boy felt like he still had a piece left of his father figure.

"It suits you," May had said, trying to hold back tears at the time.

May Parker used to work-part time at the hospital before Ben had passed, and without his pension to help with the bills, it was going to be difficult to keep their home. She opted to go back to full-time work, although Peter suspected it was his aunt's way of avoiding the pain of coming to a home without her husband.

Peter debated looking for a job to help with the bills. The Daily Bugle was offering internships for photojournalists, and as a former member of Midtown's Photography Club, he was certainly qualified. But then the boy remembered he was 14, and that this internship didn't actually pay money.

One day, the mounting pressure became too much for Peter. And, not knowing what else to do, went to visit his uncle's grave. He stared at the headstone, unsure of what to do. What am I doing? He thought. Ben used to have all the answers. Where do I go from here?

Suddenly, a voice came from behind, "Is it your first time?" Peter turned around, a girl about his age stood nearby. She had auburn hair with a red bow, carried a small bouquet of dead flowers, and spoke with an Eastern European accent.

"Um... y-yeah," he replied hesitantly.

"It was recent, wasn't it?" Asked the girl, Peter nodded sadly. "I'm sorry," she said. "Who was it? Your mother? Father?"

"Uncle," replied Peter. "But he might as well have been my father. I never knew my parents..."

"He sounds like a good man," the girl said gently.

"The best," nodded Peter.

"I actually never knew my father either," said the girl. "He ran off when my brother and I were both infants. My mother raised us with our grandparents. They're both buried not far from here." She gestured down a few rows, a grave with fresh flowers stood out.

"Now it's just my mother and brother," she continued. "They don't really come up here anymore, but sometimes it's nice for me to visit. Sometimes I come to think, sometimes I talk to them, sometimes I just come to replace the flowers. I could do that easier with my quirk, but I'm not supposed to use it without a license..."

"Oh? Are you going to M.A?" He asked, genuinely interested.

The girl nodded, "My brother and I are taking the Entrance Exam together, so hopefully we'll both get in! What about you?"

Peter's expression turned a bit crestfallen, "If you asked me that a month ago, I would've said 'yes' without hesitating. But now, with everything that's happened, I don't know..."

"I understand..." The girl seemed to get what he was going through.

Looking around quickly to make sure nobody else was around, she held up a hand next to the dead flowers. Making motions with her fingers, a red glow encircled the bouquet. A moment later, the flowers looked freshly picked, much to Peter's surprise.

"Wow, that's some Quirk you've got," he said, impressed.

"Thanks, I call it 'Hex'," she smiled, handing the bouquet to Peter. "For your Uncle. And whatever you decide, I hope I'll see you at the Exam." And she walks away down the stone path.


Nice girl, Peter thought walking home. Wish I asked her name... The boy passed through Forest Hills, it seemed the Tracksuits were back at it. Fewer people were walking the streets and fewer businesses were open.

Suddenly, he heard a woman screaming, "Help!!!! Somebody please help!!"

Perhaps it was the terror in her voice that snapped the boy out of his funk, or maybe it was the old desire to potentially see heroes in action peeking through, perhaps it was regret over what happened to Ben that instinctively made him want to take action. Whatever the reason, Peter rushed over towards the voice to see what was wrong.

A fire had started at one of the old brownstones. Several families were standing outside, clearly the residents. A fire truck was hooking up to a hydrant, but the building was pretty tall. Even if someone had a water based Quirk, it would take a while to put the fire out. There was commotion at the front of the crowd as a firefighter tried to hold a woman back.

"My baby!! I have to get back in there! My baby's in there! Let me go!"

The fireman with a Dalmatian's spotted head kept her from running in, "I can't let you in there, Mrs. Morales! The roof's about to collapse!"

"He's on the top floor!!! Somebody save my baby!! Please!!!" She yelled frantically.

Peter's eyes widened, there was a kid trapped up there. There didn't seem to be any heroes around, and there was no way the firefighters could make it before the roof caved in.

Not again, never again, Peter thought determinedly. He rushed around a corner and opened up his backpack.

The makeshift costume was still in there, but the shirt was all ripped up. The only thing left was the red mask and his old pair of glasses. Thinking quickly, Peter zipped up his uncle's jacket to protect him from the flames. He snapped the lenses off his glasses and using a little web, glued them over the eyeholes. Protection for his eyes from the smoke.

Moving quickly, Peter scaled the building and raced across the roof. Taking a huge leap, he flew over the packed street and crashed through the top floor window, tumbling into a roll.

Not the most graceful of landings, he thought. The boy knew he didn't have long. Even with his mask on, it would be hard to breath.

Relying on his Spider Sense to avoid weak flooring, Peter searched the rooms for the baby. He started to cough, the smoke was getting to him. The lenses of his glasses were starting to fog up from the heat, making it harder to see.

Finally, he heard the sound of a baby crying. Racing over, he found a little boy in a crib, practically newborn and wearing a blue onesie. Peter wrapped the boy in his blanket and began to look for a way out.

Suddenly, his Spider Sense began to go off like crazy, like it was saying GET OUT NOW!!!!

Not thinking twice, he bolted towards the nearest window. At that moment, the roof began to collapse. Tucking the infant into his chest, Peter curled himself into a ball and broke through the window.

Flames shot out around him as the boy began to free fall. With no other option, Peter shot out a web line. It caught the side of the building and he used it to slow his descent, righting himself before he hit the ground. Still, it wasn't a perfect landing and the boy twisted his ankle, But he couldn't stop as he rushed forward, dodging the debris that fell where he once stood.

Coughing slightly, Peter limped over to the silent, awestruck crowd. The firefighter lowered his arm, and Mrs. Morales walked cautiously towards the masked boy. "Is... Is he..?"

Peter gently unwrapped the blanket, "He's ok."

The crowd burst into cheering and the woman cried tears of joy as the boy handed over her son.

"Thank you!!" She said, gratefully hugging her baby. "Thank you so much!!!"

Peter smiled weakly under the mask, "What's his name?"

"Miles," she replied. "Miles Morales."

"He's a brave kid," said Peter, as he gently caressed the baby boy's face. Miles cooed slightly, a tiny hand reaching for his rescuer. Peter moved his hand and let the boy's tiny hand grip around his index finger.

Mrs. Morales suddenly gasped, "You're hurt!" Peter looked down, and sure enough, his wrist was bleeding from where he shot the web. Tiny drops fell onto the blanket as he yanked his hand back.

"Oh, I-I'm ok," he stammered, trying to cover the wound with his other hand. "It's a drawback of my Quirk, but I'd gladly do it again." This seemed to put the young mother at ease, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

An EMT made his way over, "We need to check the little guy for smoke inhalation, if you'll come with us please ma'am?" He looked at Peter, "You should get looked over too. If not for the smoke, then for your hand..."

"Umm, can I keep the mask on?" Peter asked. "I'm not exactly a hero in the 'legally licensed' sense... At least not yet..."

The EMT smiled understandingly, "Sure kid. Whatever you want. You earned it." With that, he followed the Morales' toward the ambulance.

Unbeknownst to everyone, however, a drop of blood from Peter's wrist had fallen onto the infant boy, landing in a tiny cut on his arm...


Later that evening, Peter walked into the house. Aunt May was waiting for him and she turned pale at the sight of her nephew. He smelled like smoke, the jacket was charred, and he looked exhausted. A bandage was wrapped around his wrist.

"Oh my God, Peter! What happened to you!?" She exclaimed.

"...I saved someone, Aunt May," he said, a tired smile forming on his face. "I saved a kid from a fire..."

Aunt May was taken aback by this response. Then, tears came to her eyes, and a smile grew on her face. The first one in weeks. She walked up and hugged her nephew, not caring about his dirty clothes.

"Ben would be so proud of you," she said quietly.

That's right, he told me... The boy thought back to the last conversation he had with his uncle. "Remember, with great power, the must also come great responsibility, do you understand?"

Peter clutched the dirty mask in his hands, Yeah... I understand. I'll never let you down again, Uncle Ben. I WILL become a hero... No... I'll become the World's Greatest Hero!!!

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Barber's Chair

• Another bit inspired by the Ultimate comics. After Peter lost his Uncle, he started doing heroics that very night as a way to numb the pain he was feeling. Although I decided to give him a little time to grieve, show Peter trying to get his head back on straight.

• A chance encounter at the cemetery!

• The fire scene and its aftermath with Aunt May, both moments similar to the first Rami film.

• We see here Peter gets his classic red and blue color scheme from his Uncle's jacket. Even the white lenses are caused by fire damage to his glasses! A good transition from his first black suit into something brighter.

• Miles Morales?? Yup, my initial draft was gonna have him be Ben Reilly. But looking back a few issues later, I thought there was more story potential for that character later on. And yes, he'll get powers by taking in some of Peter's blood. Hey, if they can do it in She-Hulk, I can do it here!

• Just like Deku, Peter now wants to become the World's Greatest Hero, albeit for different reasons.