Chapter Text
When the hairs on Peter's arm stood straight up, he knew something wasn’t right. Ned? No, Ned was listening to Beyonce. Michelle? No, she was cycling. To save the world, apparently. If only she knew.
Then what?
A trickle of fear crept down Peter's spine, as his body moved of its own accord. Dreading what he might see, he turned to his right and stared towards New York.
Towards the colossal spaceship, just inches from the ground.
Oh god.
The city needed Spiderman. He needed a distraction.
“Ned.”
Tap tap. Earphone removed.
“I need you to cause a distraction.”
His best friend's eyes grew impossibly wide.
“Holy shit.”
Peter grinned, and reached into his backpack as Ned did his thing. Webshooters? Check. Suit in bag? Check. Mask? Check. Bravery and will to swing towards the one thing that had haunted him for 6 long years? Absolutely.
But as he swung under the bridge just precious seconds later, he wondered if that was right. It was all just too familiar.
And as he raced through crowds of panicked citizens, shrieking in terror at every car that crashed, every blast behind them, he was reminded of the attack 6 years prior.
He had hidden under the table with Aunt May and cried until the screaming stopped. Child’s hand in guardian's. TV blaring and empty sweet wrappers. Anything but the horrors outside his window.
Now he was 17 years old, and it was his job to stop those horrors. But he wanted nothing more than to hide with May and let the adults take care of the screaming.