“What on earth were you thinking?!” Aunt May’s voice echoed through the dining room, laced with unmistakable panic and fury.
Peter sat at the table, his expression calm.
“I was just trying to help.” “Help?
Leaving Mary Jane all by herself to run straight into a war zone?!” Aunt May’s voice rose sharply.
“She was safe—” “I don’t care if she was safe, Peter!” Aunt May cut him off, her eyes rimmed with red.
“What you did was utterly reckless, extremely dangerous!
It’s a miracle you’re even alive!
I don’t understand why you would ever do something like that!” “I…
I wanted to save people—” “Are you the police?
Are you the army?
You’re just a kid, Peter, you—” “But because of me, a man gets to go home to his family tonight!” Peter suddenly raised his voice, cutting off her scolding.
“I saved his life, and others too.
I don’t regret what I did.” Aunt May froze, a flash of alarm crossing her face.
In all her memories, Peter Parker had never talked back to her like this.
But the boy sitting before her was clearly no longer the meek, timid child he used to be.
“May, let’s call it a night,” Uncle Ben’s gentle voice broke the stalemate.
He patted his wife’s shoulder softly.
“Go on to bed.
I’ll take it from here.” “But Ben, I—” “It’s alright, May.
Go on,” Uncle Ben reassured her softly.
Aunt May let out a heavy sigh, gave a solemn nod, and turned to leave the room.
Only the two of them remained in the dining room.
Peter reined in his sharp posture and lowered his voice in apology.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Ben.
I didn’t mean to talk back.” “It’s fine, Peter.
I understand,” Uncle Ben said, looking at him with deep, thoughtful eyes.
“I just want you to realize that you are everything to Aunt May and me.
If we lost you…” “But I saved someone, Uncle Ben.” Peter looked the old man straight in the eye.
“Isn’t that what you’ve always taught me?
If I have the power to help people, isn’t it my responsibility to do so?” Uncle Ben fell silent for a moment, a gratifying smile touching the corner of his lips.
“Yes, I suppose it is.
Go get some sleep, Peter.
We’ll talk more in the morning.
Don’t forget you have school tomorrow.” Peter nodded.
“Alright…
Good night, Uncle Ben.” Back in his bedroom, Peter locked the door behind him and slumped onto his bed, letting out a long breath.
He pulled out the damaged web-shooter from his drawer—the one battered in the Harlem fight.
One was barely functional; the other was complete scrap metal.
He tinkered with them for a moment before giving up in frustration.
The gear needed a complete rebuild.
If he really intended to walk the path of a superhero, his current equipment was vastly inadequate.
The shooters needed to be more durable, with larger fluid capacities, and maybe he could develop webs with different properties.
If he’d had a variety of webs available while dealing with the Abomination, he wouldn’t have been pushed into such a passive corner.
As he was deep in thought, a sudden knock sounded at his window.
Peter flinched, almost knocking the spare parts off his desk.
He looked up to see Mary Jane clinging to a tree branch outside, waving at him.
Bewildered, he opened the window.
“Mary Jane?
How did you climb up here?” “Climbed the tree, obviously.” She pointed to the old oak next to his window and blinked.
“Mind letting me in?” “Of course.” Peter stepped aside to let her inside and shut the window behind her.
“What’s wrong?
Did something happen?” “Nothing.
Did your aunt and uncle chew you out?” Peter offered a wry smile.
“Yeah, but I deserved it.
What about you?
Did Aunt Anna give you a hard time?” “Nope.
Aunt Anna is pretty open-minded.
She actually thought I should’ve gone with you,” Mary Jane said with a roll of her eyes.
“Though she hasn’t stopped gushing about how amazing you were.
My ears are practically ringing.” “I wouldn’t say ‘amazing.’ Maybe ‘spectacular’ is a better fit,” Peter joked.
“Don’t get cocky, Parker,” Mary Jane sniffed, though her eyes were filled with admiration.
“You really were cool tonight, though.
Especially when you saved that guy—that steel beam must have weighed tons!” Peter shrugged.
“Maybe.
I was too busy saving him to put it on a scale.” “You look so skinny.
I can’t believe you have that kind of strength,” Mary Jane said, assessing his slender frame.
“You barely have any muscle.” Peter’s heart tightened slightly.
He let out a dry laugh.
“Adrenaline spike.
People can unlock crazy potential in emergencies.” This girl was far too observant; that wasn’t a good sign.
“I guess so.” Mary Jane didn’t push it, shifting the subject.
“Anyway, I just came over to make sure you were okay.” “I’m fine, just a little tired.” “Really?
I can’t sleep at all,” Mary Jane complained.
“Too nervous.” “Nervous about what?
Didn’t the Hulk run off?
The military probably put that giant green guy on ice.” “Not that!” Mary Jane sighed.
“School!
Tomorrow is my first day at Midtown High!” Peter chuckled.
“Relax, Mary Jane.
It’s just classes.
Nothing to panic about.
You’re pretty and smart.
Guys are going to go crazy for you, and girls will be fighting to be your best friend.” Mary Jane laughed.
“You really think so?” “I’m sure of it.
So relax, high school isn’t the end of the world.” The two stayed up late chatting.
After Mary Jane left, Peter closed the window.
Having a friend like her was nice—Peter Parker desperately needed normal social interactions.
As for whether things would turn romantic in the future, he’d let nature take its course.
Having a good friend was enough for now.
The next morning.
Peter sat at the breakfast table, flipping through the day’s edition of the Daily Bugle.
The front page headlined the battle involving the Hulk, while near the margin was a blurry snapshot of his own silhouette swinging through Harlem.
The report didn’t reveal his true identity.
The media and the public had simply given him a code name: “Spider-Man.”