Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hero’s head was spinning. His hand throbbed in pain. His pupils dilated. His body was cold and sweating.

Hero could barely stand up from how shaky he was. He had never felt sicker in his entire life. Fear, pain, and nausea continued to hit him wave after wave. He felt like he was dying. He couldn’t breathe. Everything around him felt blurry.

And then he passed out.

“GIVE IT BACK!”

Aubrey began chasing Kel, who had just stolen her Plantegg plushie. Kel waved it over his head as he started running around the big yellow cat in the middle of the playground.

“AUBREY, IT’S A JOKE! CALM DOWN—“

The two ran around the cat briefly before Mari called out to them.

“Okay, Kel, that’s enough! Give it back.”

“Aww, but it’s funny!” Kel complained, slowing down.

“KELSEY!” Aubrey yelled as she snatched her plushie back from him and smacked him on the head. 

Sunny and Basil were just sitting in the shade of a nearby tree. Basil had a book of flowers that he was showing his best friend. Though Sunny rarely spoke, he enjoyed just listening to Basil speak. It was a hot summer day, and summer had just started. Kel and Aubrey were fighting as usual, Basil and Sunny were hanging out in the shade, and Mari was quietly reading a book on a picnic blanket she had laid out. She finally got some time off work and college and was happy to spend the day with her friends.

Meanwhile, Hero had just pulled up in his car and walked towards Mari. He also had time off and returned to visit his friends. Per Mari's suggestion, He was slowly working his way into becoming a chef, and she was becoming a fully-fledged piano performer. The two had been together for nearly three years and spent every possible second with each other. But for once, they decided to spend equal time with the younger friends of the group.

Hero snuck up behind Mari, making sure to be as quiet as possible. Her eyes were really focused on the book, whatever it was about. “Guess who!” Hero said as he covered Mari’s eyes with his hands, startling her a little.

“Wh— Oh…” Mari’s shoulders relaxed a little as she closed her book. “Hmmm…I’m not sure…the cutest boy ever?~”

Hero’s heart skipped a beat when she said that. His hands shakily moved away from her. “T-That’s cheating, Mari…” he said, blushing heavily.

“Hehe! Glad to see you too, Love~” Mari said, smiling with a smug face and a kiss on his cheek. Hero smiled a little with his dork's look, which Mari knew very well. He was always so happy to see her.

“HEY, BRO!” Kel called out. Kel ran on over to meet his brother. Hero stood up and walked towards him in response.

“Hey, Kel!” He extends his hand out, and Kel latches on to it, pulling his older brother into a hug.

“I missed you, man! How’s college?”

“Well, it’s been going alright. I’m learning pretty fast.” Hero claimed as he scratched the back of his neck.

Kel beamed. “That’s great! Glad you’re having fun, buddy!” From behind Kel, Aubrey slowly walked up, Sunny and Basil following behind.

“Sup, Hero? What’s new? Still training to become a househusband?” Asked Aubrey with a smirk.

Hero shot an annoyed look at her. “I told you, it’s a professional thing, not just a domestic thing.” He says reluctantly.

“Hi, Hero! Nice to see you again!” Basil exclaimed, holding his arms out. Hero took Basil into a short hug.

“Nice to see you too, Basil! How’s that job been?”

Basil released himself from Hero and lifted his camera to press his point. “Daily Bugle has been great! Everyone loves to see my pictures. The boss is a little rough, but other than that, I’m making money.”

Hero chuckled a little. “Well, it’s not bad for your first job. And you get to be in the paper almost every day.” Hero’s attention turned to Sunny, with the deadpan look he always had. “And how are WE today, Sunny?” Hero asked, bending down slightly to get to his level. Sunny simply gave a thumbs-up with the slightest hint of a smile. “Good to hear!” Said Hero.

“Hey! We should get Pizza!” Said Kel, rubbing his stomach. “I’m starving!”

“Kel, Mom said that we would have dinner later tonight-“ Hero tried to explain.

“Aw, hell yeah, I’m down for pizza.” Said Aubrey.

“B-but we’re all having dinner later-“ Hero tried to explain again.

“Everyone, we’re having dinner later at Hero’s and Kel’s. You can wait until then.” Mari said, gently wrapping her arms around Hero’s waist, much to his embarrassment.

“Aww…no fair, you always take HIS side…” Kel said sadly. No pizza today for him.

“Wow! This is great! Thank you so much, Mrs. Parker!” Basil said as he took another bite of the pasta on his plate.

“Oh, have as much as you like! There’s plenty for everyone!” She replied. The friend group were all having dinner at Kel and Hero’s house. It was nice seeing them all together, talking and having fun. Sally was making a mess over her table, Kel was eating most of the food, and Mari was encouraging Sunny to try and eat as much as possible.

“…another crime incident happened earlier today with some unidentified criminals hijacking a truck and recklessly driving throughout the city.”

Hero could hear a TV playing even from the dining room.

“The criminals caused a lot of property damage and even crashed into a transport truck used to transport specimens to Oscorp. Several spider specimens were killed in this crash, and those missing are also presumed dead.” Ugh. Just hearing the word “spider” made Hero’s spine shiver. There were missing spiders in the city? That’s just horrible. But New York is such a big place. Indeed, he would never come into contact with one, right?

“Hmph. Damn criminals.” scoffed Hero’s Father. Hero’s Father was an officer who always dealt with delinquents and petty theft, but he had heard his father’s frustrations about never being assigned to more challenging tasks. “Why can’t I ever be assigned to this stuff? I could handle them.”

“Dear, you know it’s dangerous.” Said Hero’s mom. “You shouldn’t be putting yourself in danger just to prove yourself.” She started scooping up some more food for her plate. “Oh, Sunny, do you mind?-“She motioned towards the salt, and Sunny politely handed it to her.

“Yeah, Dad!” Said Kel in between his mouthfuls of food. “Mm…you hafe nothsing to prooove!”

“Still…I wish I could actually do something…” Hero’s dad looked with a sense of sorrow. He was so proud when he first got his badge, but he’s never done something more extreme than writing parking tickets. He felt terrible for his old man.

“Hey…one day, Dad. You’ll do great.” Hero smiles with the charming look he always has.

“Hmph…I hope so.” 

Some time had passed since dinner, and the gang was passing the time with some Mario Kart in the living room. Sally had been watching for a while since she loved the cast, but as time passed and Aubrey’s frustration with the game grew, she started scaring the poor baby. She started crying from seeing Aubrey scream a little louder than she should have.

“Oh- oh no, I’m sorry!-“ but she had done the damage already. She started wailing as most young children did.

“Oh- hey now, it’s okay, Sally.” Mari gently picked up the child and began comforting her. She had always been really good with kids, being the “mom friend” of the group when they were younger. Sally began to calm down a little, giving Mari an adorable and innocent look. Aubrey stood up to look at the tiny thing. She gently touched the top of her head as an apology of sorts. 

“…sorry, kid.” Sally gave her a puzzled look as she slowly reached out to the pink-haired girl.

…she then bopped her on the nose.

“Wh- h-hey!” Aubrey’s face blushed a little as Kel and Sunny started laughing. “Shut up!” She said, slightly quieter than a shout.

“Aww, she likes you!” Laughed Kel, pointing at her

“Heheh…maybe I should take her to bed now.” Hero suggested as he gently took his sister from Mari. “It’s a little past her bedtime now.”

“…mmmMAWIO!” Sally cooed with a frowny face. Mari laughed a little at the toddler's attempt to stay with the group.

“Sorry, you can see Mawio tomorrow. You have to go to bed now.” Hero began to walk towards the hallway where her parents' room led. She had her crib still in her parents' room. It was easier for them to help her if she started crying at night. He carefully carried his sister up the stairs, hearing Aubrey continue to rage at the game. Hero knocked on the door before entering, but his parents were already asleep. Trying quietly not to disturb them, he gently placed Sally into her crib, giving her a tiny kiss on the forehead as he did.

“Buenas noches, Sally. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sally babbled a little before snuggling into her blankets. Hero smiled and snuck out, closing the door behind him. Hero could hear Aubrey finally getting the hang of the game downstairs, and he walked downstairs to meet his friends again.

“YES! FINALLY!” Aubrey exclaimed with excitement as she finally won a race. Kel had horrible luck with the round and came in dead last.

“Tch…you got lucky…” Kel sulked as he knew Aubrey would never let go of this. “Whatever, I let you win anyway.”

Basil chuckled a little and snapped a picture of his friends. “I’m glad you two are still having fun.” Sunny began to lean on Basil’s side, his eyes looking heavy. “Hey, maybe we should go to bed now. It’s pretty late…”

Mari yawned as she looked at her watch. It was past midnight. She usually didn’t stay up this late, and Sunny never stayed up past 10. “Yeah, we should be heading to sleep now. Sunny looks really tired.”  The gang had already decided they were spending the night, and blankets with pillows had already been placed for them. Sunny instantly flopped down into one of them and fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

Mari tucked her brother into bed as Aubrey stretched her arms out. “Yeah, I’m tired. Kicking Kel’s ass is basically a full-time job.”

“Hey! You beat me ONCE!” Kel said, holding up a finger to emphasize his point.

“Shh! Don’t wake up Sally!” Said Hero, silencing everyone else. Kel and Aubrey just ended their argument there and started getting into their beds. But Kel noticed Hero walking towards the front door. “Bro? Where are you going?”

“Oh, just stepping outside for a moment. It’s pretty hot in here. I’ll be back in a second.” And with that, Hero stepped outside.

The cool summer breeze felt nice on Hero’s skin. The craziness of work always had him on edge. College was worse, too. He hardly got any free time and didn’t have many friends. He mostly just tried to focus on his studies, but it was getting lonely. He wished Mari was studying at the same school he was in so they could see each other more often. He always felt awful whenever he declined an offer to visit his friends since he was so busy, but I guess that’s what the expectations are for him now.

In the distance, even at midnight, he could hear police sirens, probably chasing down some criminals. There always was something criminal going on in New York City. And he even remembered getting mugged once with Mari earlier this year. He wanted to fight back, but Mari told him just to give the man his money. He just really wished he could do something. If only he had a way to make the world a better place. And sure, his cooking was pretty good, but it wasn’t really the same thing as preventing robberies and murders.

Suddenly, his vision went completely black as he felt someone’s hands cover his eyes. His anxiety spiked, and he freaked out.

“Guess who~.”

Oh. It’s just her.

Hero took a breath and used the last of his brain cells to think of the most charismatic one-liner he could muster.

“Well…hm…uh…Miss Madam Mari?”

Wow. Great job, dumbass.

Mari cackled as she took her hands off his eyes and wrapped them around his neck. “You’re such a dork! But you’re right~” she planted a kiss on his cheek as his face continued to grow red. “M-Mari…hi. Whatchu doing?”

“Oh, I just wanted to see what you’re doing. You’ve been out here for nearly 10 minutes now.”

“Wait, I have? I didn’t think it was that long…”

Mari’s eyes softened a little. “Hero…is everything alright? You’ve looked ‘off’ ever since I’ve seen you today.”

Hero just sighed a little as he took Mari’s hands into his own. “I’ve just been stressed out recently…like, I don’t feel like I’m living up to expectations that have been set.” His eyes wandered to the ground, awaiting a response.

Mari gently leaned up against her boyfriend and nuzzled into his neck. “Hey…you’re doing just great, okay? I’m proud of you. Everyone back here is proud of you. Sunny looks up to you so much, you know?”

Hero sighed again. He leaned up against his girlfriend, too. “Yeah…I hope I’m setting a good example for my brother-in-law…Sunny’s a good kid. And I just hope I can get through.” He paused and looked up at the big city. A shiny light, maybe a helicopter, flew in the distance. “I’ll be okay, Mari. Don’t worry about me, okay?” He let out a big smile for her.

Mari’s face, on the other hand, was bright red. “B-brother-in-law? Y-you want to get married soon…!?”

Now Hero’s face turned red, too. “Ah- N-no! I mean- yes- but not now-! Sorry, t-that just slipped out!!”

Mari giggled again at her nervous lover. “Well…I wouldn’t mind one day~.”

Hero’s anxiety spiked, but he remained calm and composure. “Oh, what a beautiful wife you would make~,” he said as he placed a finger on the bottom of her chin with one hand. She beamed such a happy smile.

A horrible, jagged pain hit Hero in the hand.

“OW! WHAT-“

“Huh?! Hero? What happened?”

Hero looked at his right hand, which had just been to the side a moment earlier. There was a giant black spider. And its fangs were lodged deep in his hand.

Nearly the entire city heard him scream.

“GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF! OH MY GOD, IT JUST BIT ME–” Hero shook his hand wildly and repeatedly slapped his hand. Mari just sat there, stunned at the sudden volatility of Hero.

“Henry– Henry, it’s okay, it was just a house-spider! They’re completely harmless!” Mari said, trying to calm her Hero down.

“IT JUST BIT ME! I’M GONNA DIE. I’M GONNA DIE–” Hero desperately searched his hand for any signs of hives, intense blood loss, or colour changes as if he would explode at any minute.

“HERO!” Mari grabbed his face and directed all of his attention towards her. “You are okay. It was just a little spider. Less than ten people a year die from spider bites. And I know for a FACT that you will not be one of them. There are no dangerous species of spiders anywhere near here. You’re okay, sweetie.”

Hero’s breath was ragged and heaving. 

Hero’s head was spinning.

His hand throbbed in pain.

His pupils dilated.

His body was cold and sweating.

“M-Mari…I really don’t feel good…” he said, moaning.

Mari gently began hugging Hero, holding his bitten hand. “Shh…it’s okay, you’re okay. You’ll be okay; it was just a little spider. Say it with me, okay? Everything is going to be okay.”

Hero’s head continued to spin as things got a little blurry. “E-everything is…going to…be okay…”

“Repeat it, Hero. Deep breaths, alright?”

“Everything is…okay…”

“Good. Now, let’s just go to bed; you seem really pale. I’ll be here with you, okay?”

Hero could barely stand up from how shaky he was. He had never felt more sick in his entire life. Fear, pain, and nausea continued to hit him wave after wave. He felt like he was dying. He couldn’t breathe. Everything around him felt blurry.

Mari guided Hero inside the house and helped him get on his bed upstairs. She figured it would be best if he slept on his bed instead of the blankets downstairs, as his bed is a natural, safe space for him. Mari looked around for any signs of spiders but thankfully found none. She gently laid down with him, snuggling up with him. Whenever his anxiety got really bad, she would always latch on and not let go until she knew he was okay. She gently began comforting him as his fear slowly faded away.

“All better now?” she asked him.

“...yeah. Thank you.” Hero said, kissing her forehead. “I needed that.”

Mari smiled softly and rested her head on his chest. “Just go to sleep, buddy. I’ll be here for you when you wake up.”

And then he passed out. 

Chapter Text

Hero woke up. His room felt hot, and his neck was really sore. Actually, as he tried to move, he realized a lot more than his neck was sore. In fact, everything felt sore—his shoulders, torso, legs, arms, and especially his hand. Mari was still lying on him, soundly asleep. Hero tried to nudge her off him gently, but as he tried, she woke up. She yawned a little, blinked a few times, and looked up at her Hero. She smiled sweetly when she saw him.

“Good morning, handsome~. Sleep well?”

Hero opened his mouth to speak but immediately felt a dull ache in his hand. He raised his hand to his face to see it was swollen to hell and back.
“Oh, are you still worried about that?” Mari asked softly, taking his hand into hers. “It looks kind of bad, but I think you’ll be okay. Maybe just put some ice on it if it’s still not feeling good.”

Hero groaned. He had never woken up like this before. Was he afraid his body was having a negative response? He tried to force himself up. He stretched and looked toward his clock. It was almost 11 AM. He never sleeps in that late. He stood up and looked out his window toward the city. There was a plane and a lovely afternoon sky. Hopefully, it won’t be too cloudy out today. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Yooo, Hero? You awake yet? We have breakfast ready! Come get some already!” It was Kel calling for him.

“Oh shoot, I didn’t realize how late it was. We should get up now.” Said Mari, quickly checking the mirror.
“Y-yeah…I’m getting up.” Hero took out a comb he usually had in his room and quickly combed his messy hair. As Hero stepped out the door of his room, Mari followed close behind. They entered the kitchen, awaiting a nice bacon, eggs, and pancake meal. Kel was devouring most of the food, Basil was reading his book with Sunny, and Aubrey was just checking her phone.

“Oh, good morning, you two!” Said Basil. “Where did you two go?”

“Well, uh, when I was sitting outside last night, a random spider came along and bit me…I kind of had a panic attack…” Hero said, grabbing a plate of food.
“Oh shit, are you okay?” Aubrey asked, looking up from her phone.
Hero gave the glorious smile he always had. “Of course! I’m all alright now!” He sat beside his brother, still stuffing his face full of food.

“Well, alright then, if you say so.” Said Kel, taking another big bite of egg.

“So, what are we gonna do today?” Asked Mari, sitting down next to her brother.
“Basil thought bowling might be fun. A sale’s going on or somethin’.” Said, Aubrey

“Oh, yeah, if you guys are interested, bowling might be fun! We haven’t done that in a long time.” Basil said happily, closing his book to focus more on his food.

“YEAH! BOWLING!” Shouted Kel, chomping down more of his food. Hero wasn’t especially hungry, yet he still knew he should try and eat some food, lest Mari gets on his case about undereating like Sunny.

Tink!

Hero pressed his fork down on his eggs, only for the plate to crack. The yolk spilled over the crack and onto the table as Hero and the others stared in stunned silence.
“Ah- whoops! Sorry!” Hero said, face turning red as he reached for some napkins.

Hero tried cleaning up his mess, ensuring he didn’t accidentally break anything. As he carefully wiped up the broken plate and glass, his elbow accidentally knocked the can of Orange Joe that Kel had on the table. The can flew off the edge of the table, and before Hero could even register what he did, his one hand that had just been holding the napkins was now wrapped around the can he hit less than half a second earlier off the table. Everyone was visibly impressed at the incredible feat that had just been performed before them, including Hero.

“...Holy shit, nice catch, Hero,” Aubrey said.
“Woah! Hero, that was amazing!” Basil exclaimed, astounded.

“Hmph…Show-off.” Kel commented, with a smug look towards his brother.

Hero shyly placed the can back on the table. He only then noticed that the fork he had in his hand had bent entirely in half despite only having one hand holding it.

“So, after we’re all done eating, let’s start walking over there. It will be a great day outside, so let's enjoy it!” Mari suggested. Nobody other than Hero had noticed that he bent the fork, so he discreetly tried to turn it back in place. Even with one hand, it was surprisingly easy to fix it. The metal was a little warped, but he set it as good as new.

“Speaking of which, do you guys feel like ice cream later?” Aubrey said after finishing her glass of juice. As Hero stood up and walked to the kitchen to throw away his broken plate, he noticed he couldn’t take his finger off the ceramic disk. Much to his confusion, he tried to shake it off his hand.

“Oh, yeah! It’s gonna be a great day outside! We should get ice cream!” Kel shouted happily. Hero tried prying his fingers from the plate, but his fingers just wouldn’t budge.

“What the heck–” Hero said to himself, going thankfully unnoticed. “Stop sticking…!”

“Hey, I thought you were lactose intolerant?” Basil said, puzzled. “Don’t you need some other kind of ice cream?” Hero was still in the next room, desperately trying to pull the broken plate from his fingers.

Kel smiled brightly. “It’s not lactose; it’s ice cream!”

Aubrey had a deadpan look on her face that rivalled even Sunny’s. “Kel, I refuse to believe you are this fucking stupid.”

“Language!” Mari said, with a stern look towards Aubrey.

Hero still had the plate stuck to both his palms at this point. He tried to pull them away, but they always got attached to one hand after the first was freed. As he gripped the plate with his new free hand, it again got stuck. “What the heck is going–”
CLASH!

Hero had just pulled the plate apart in half with brute force alone. It had broken before his hands let go. But now he had finally got the attention of his friends.

“Bro? You good?” Kel asked from the room over.

“Um…yeah! No worries! I’ll be out there in a second!” Hero started panicking. What would they say if they saw waving around two shattered pieces of a plate?

“Hey, sweetie, I just remembered I left my purse in your room. Can you please go get it?” Mari asked from down the hall. Suddenly, the plates seemed to feel a little looser. What was happening now?

“Ah, uh, sure, Love. I got it.” Hero said. Just hearing Mari’s voice was incredibly soothing to him. Hero smiled to himself softly.

Thunk! Thunk!
The two plate shards stuck to his hands suddenly fell into the trash can. Hero was free. Amazed at his strange ability, he looked at his hands closely. His vision seemed really good, too. In fact, he saw tiny little spikes on the tips of his fingers growing all over. He had never seen something like that before. Something was clearly not right. He didn’t feel sick anymore, yet he just felt so overwhelmed. He tried his best to ignore everything around him as it was some weird delusion he was going through. He walked upstairs to grab Mari’s purse. His sense of hearing was incredibly keen. He could even hear the taps of Aubrey’s fingers on her phone from across the house. He could listen to his dog Hector yawning even though he was in the kitchen. Outside, three houses down, he could hear someone ringing a bicycle bell. And somehow, he could hear a fly buzzing around in his room even though the door was shut tight.

“How the heck…?” Hero had never felt more confused in his life. Why was this happening? How could he be so sensitive to everything? As he opened the door, he spotted the purse and, as carefully as possible, grabbed the handle with a single finger. He really didn’t want to ruin the nice thing Mari had. But then he saw his mirror. He hadn’t noticed it before, but it seemed…a little different. His arms looked a little more defined than he remembered. Hero curiously took off his shirt for a better look. His entire torso looked stronger. He couldn’t help but do a quick flex. He had never looked this good before. He wasn’t mainly active, but he looked like he was about as strong as Kel, maybe even a lot stronger.

“Wow…I’m liking what I see.” He said to himself in a joking matter.

“That makes two of us~.” Hero instantly snapped around to see Mari giggling at him.

“WHA– HOW LONG WERE YOU THERE FOR?” Hero asked, face redder than a tomato.

The team of six finally got to the bowling alley. It had been long since the group last went, so they were all eager to play. Hero wasn't having the best day after an embarrassing morning without breakfast and poor sleep. He was just hoping things would light up in the afternoon. For now, he’d just try his best to enjoy his time with his girlfriend and best friends. Kel was excitedly jumping up and down in the new bowling shoes he got.

“C’mon, slowpokes, let’s go!” He happily ran over to the alley they were playing at.

“...that doofus,” Aubrey said under her breath. “Kel, wait!” The group set up the game, and everyone was ready to start. Kel was up first, and he confidently approached the row.

“Watch and learn, guys!” Kel quickly tossed the ball down the alley, knocking over almost all the pins. He took another ball and pitched again, knocking over the remaining pins. “BOOYAH!”

“Pfft, that’s nothing!” Aubrey scoffed. “Check this shit out, nerd.” Aubrey took the next ball and pitched it down the alley. The ball went pretty straight but unexpectedly turned to the side and only took out a single pin.

“Aw, good try, Auby!” Mari said encouragingly. But Kel just laughed at her.

“Grr- Just WATCH! I can still do this!” Aubrey took another ball and rolled it down the alley, only for it to still fall into the gutter. “Oh, what the hell?!”

“Haha! Nice try, Aubs! One point for Kel!” Kel shouted, raising a fist into the air.

“Hey, we’re even, asshat! Don’t forget Mario Kart!” Aubrey said, pointing at him.

“Where did you learn to count? I’m still in the lead! You lost six times and only won once!” Kel smiled at her, almost trying to aggravate her.

“Hey, guys, uh, calm down!!” Basil said worriedly.

“I’ll win eventually! Just you wait, schmuck!” Aubrey said, grabbing Kel by the shirt.

Only then did the three of them notice Sunny pitch a perfect bowl, striking all pins. He turned to look at Aubrey and Kel with a smug look, walking back to his seat.

“...punk,” Aubrey mumbled under her breath.

Hero was up next. Being naturally talented at everything, he typically scored the highest. But after his strange occurrence today, he was worried if he could even play. He was nervous but still had some confidence. He calmed himself and tossed the ball forward.

“Ack- oh, come on! Not again!” he mumbled to himself. The ball was stuck to his hand. He tried to bowl the ball again, but it was once again stuck.

“Bro, what are you doing? Just throw the ball!” Kel called out to him. Hero felt his cheeks turn red. He was so embarrassed. Why was this happening to him? His frustrations grew bigger. And he really put a lot of effort into the next swing.

The ball flew off Hero’s hand at incredible speeds, shattering the pins and sending splinters everywhere at the far end of the alley. The ball split entirely in half when it hit the back wall, damaging all the machinery. A loud alarm started blaring due to the impressive damage that had just been caused. The entire group was beyond shocked at the extreme display of strength Hero had just displayed. Even Sunny, who had the ever-prominent poker face, was amazed at Hero’s abilities. The employees and other customers were left just as speechless.

“...holy SHIT, HERO, THAT WAS AWESOME!” Aubrey cheered but was instantly silenced by Mari’s death glare.

Only about half an hour had passed. The group was kicked out of the alley and forced to do something else. They were just walking to the park they had spent the previous day at. Hero had been feeling really bad about breaking the alleyway and was visibly sulking.

“S-sorry guys…I don’t know what happened.” Hero whimpered. “I-I’ve never done something like that before.”

“Don’t be! That was sick!” Aubrey said, smacking Hero on the back. “Never knew you had that in ya.”

“Ah…Still, I caused a lot of damage. I’m probably never gonna be allowed to go in there again.” Hero said as he slumped down on the nearby bench. Mari sat down next to him and began nuzzling into his shoulder. That little incident at the alleyway had more or less ruined Hero’s mood. Kel was showing off his basketball skills, Sunny and Basil sat in their usual shade reading some new book, and Aubrey left to bully Kel. Suddenly, a familiar tune started playing in the distance. The ice cream truck! Maybe that would help Hero feel better.

“Hey, Love, want some ice cream?” Hero asked Mari, perking her attention.

“Sure!” She said happily. She saw Kel and Aubrey cheering for ice cream before she could even ask. The six friends got their ice cream cones, except for Kel, whom Hero forced to eat an orange-flavoured freezie since he couldn't have lactose ice cream. The gang spread out again into their pairs, Hero returning to the bench with Mari.

“Hey…what’s really going on, Henry?” Mari questioned. She never used his real name unless it was something serious. “You woke up feeling awful, somehow broke a plate at breakfast, was weirdly staring at yourself in the mirror, and now you just destroyed an entire bowling alley. What’s going on?”

Hero sighed deeply. He was having a terrible day. He had no idea what was going on. “I have no idea…I really just feel so different.”

Mari got a little closer to her man. “Are you still stressed out about that spider?” Oh, wow, Hero somehow completely forgot about that random spider. It did still worry him, but–

Wait—that spider.

Several spider specimens were killed in this crash, and those missing are also presumed dead.

Oh no.

A transport truck used to transport specimens to Oscorp.

Oh my god, no.

Oscorp does chemical research and biology.

There is no way.

Was there a chance–even a tiny chance, that he got bitten by one of those spiders? And the strange effects have caused his unpredictable behaviour?

…yeah, right.

“I’m not too concerned about that anymore. I’m okay now.” Hero calmly said. “Look, the spider bite is hardly noticeable.” He lifted his free hand, and as he said, the bite had healed quite nicely.

“Oh wow, it does look a lot better. Do you feel any pain?” Mari asked, examining the hand closer.

“No, actually. It feels just fine now. It hurt a little this morning, but it's all better now.”

In the background, Sunny stood up and began to walk to the ice cream truck. He still wanted some more.

“Oh, Sunny, could you get me some more, too? I can pay you back.” Basil asked from his shade. Sunny held up a thumb and walked towards the truck.

“Well, there is one thing I can do for you,” Mari said, a smug look forming on her face. Uh oh, she was going to do something awful. She lowered her hand down and kissed Heros' hand. His face turned red, and he became a stuttering mess. “Just for you~.” Mari teased, winking at him.

In return, Hero gently nudged her arm when she tried to take a lick of her ice cream, getting some on her nose. She laughed and nudged him back, getting a laugh out of the boy.

“Oh, you jerk!” Mari laughed. The two truly enjoyed each other's company.

“Well, I can’t have you pulling stuff like that, can I? Hero laughed, winking back at her with his charismatic smile.

“Oh, Henry. You really have a gift, y’know?” She gently kissed him on the cheek, causing more of his face to blush. “You have so much potential inside of you. And I am so proud of you.”

In the nearby distance, police sirens were going off as Sunny returned to the shade with his two cones of the cold, sweet treat.

“M-Mari…not here…” Hero blushed more. He turned away.

“No,” Mari said, taking a finger to his chin and forcing him to look at her. “Listen, Parker. I love you. And I’m not going to leave you any time soon. You are amazing. You have such charm, charisma, and looks~.”

“M-Mari…” Hero said, slowly being pulled closer to her.
“You have something, Henry—a power. And you can use that power to make this world a better place. Just smiling and being you is more than enough.”

Mari then changed something that would change Henry Parker’s life forever.

“And, Henry, with such a great power, great responsibility must also come.”

Around the corner, a high-speed chase ensued. A speeding drunk driver and two cop cars were following in hot pursuit. The man’s face showed that he was absolutely hammered and hardly even awake. Hero’s senses kicked it up to eleven. He immediately sprang out of his bench. The car and its drunken driver just smashed through a nearby fence. The oblivious Sunny turned to see two tons of metal barreling at nearly 50 miles an hour toward him. Mari jumped up with a blood-curdling scream to warn her little brother of the oncoming threat. Kel and Aubrey also yelled and dashed to Sunny’s aid while Basil just sat there shouting for Sunny to get out of the way.

With unreal amounts of speed, Hero dashed towards Sunny, the car being mere inches away from him, grabbed him by the waist, and leaped backwards. He and Sunny felt like their lives were going through slow motion. The car's top practically touched Hero’s hair as it quickly zoomed underneath them. Hero landed perfectly, still holding Sunny in his inhuman backflip, safely touching the ground, as the car zipped by and crashed into a tree.

The group was stunned for the third and final time that day. Hero had just done a backflip over a car while holding Sunny, saving his life in the most stylish way possible. Tears were in Mari’s eyes as she rushed forward and locked Sunny into a giant bear hug. Amazement was in Kel and Aubrey’s eyes as they rapidly came over to see if the two were alright. Sunny’s entire life had just flashed before his eyes, and he was on the verge of tears himself. Basil ran over and hugged Sunny, relieved beyond words that his best friend was okay. Hero’s mind was foggy. Did he just do that?

Sunny had freed himself from the grasp of Basil and Mari and latched onto Hero, refusing to let go. Sunny started crying as his saviour wrapped his arms around him. The car had thankfully stopped, and the police had gotten out of their cars, oblivious to the event that had taken place moments before. Mari grabbed Hero, frantically thanking him for saving her little brother’s life.

“Dude…that was amazing!  Where did you learn to do that?!” Kel and Aubrey both asked together. The two had never seen any human move like that before. The Hero couldn’t answer that question, and he said nothing. He felt like his body was possessed by something. Something that just saved his friend's life.

Sunny looked up at his saviour with teary eyes.

“...Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Hero had to take a big step back.

In a nearby alleyway, he had been thinking about what Mari said just a few hours before that car flip he pulled off. If he really did have power, how could he use it? Hero took a breath and put his hand up against the brick wall.

“Okay…now stick.” He commanded. But he felt nothing in his hand change. But as he tried to pull away, he saw that his hand was stuck just as it was to the plate this morning. No matter how hard he pulled, he was now glued to the wall.

“Okay…now stop sticking.” Hero commanded again. He put his focus on releasing his grip from the wall. But to no avail. He was still stuck on the wall. He pulled harder, using most of his weight to yank his hand from the bricks. The two bricks attached to his hand broke away from the building, still stuck to his hand. Hero’s hand flew back and slammed into the opposite wall, crushed between the literal rocks and a hard place.

“OW– Shoot!” Hero said. His hand looked a little scraped, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as he had expected. For the third time today, he had broken another thing. “Okay…just calm down…and unstick.” Hero tried his best to calm down and think about something relaxing. Mari was the first thing that came to mind. Her voice, touch, and everything about her calmed him.

Thunk! Thunk!

The two bricks had fallen to the ground and off his hand. Hero smiled a little as he slowly tried to learn his strange abilities. He carefully picked up one of the bricks as if it were made of styrofoam. He slowly moved his hand over and gently placed it back into the slot in the wall. When he did, he thought about Mari again. And surprisingly, when he pulled his hand away, the brick didn't stick. Hero smiled again. He was slowly learning! After replacing the other brick in the wall, he looked up. The building wasn’t too terribly tall. Could he climb it…?

Hero’s hair stood up its’ end as his senses kicked into overdrive again. His head jerked to the left as he saw a spider on the wall. He suppressed a scream as he observed it. It was slow, yet effortlessly climbing the wall. And it was spinning a web to try and catch any unsuspecting insects that happened to get too close. Hero looked closer as the spider almost showed him how to turn a web. It produced silk from its’ back end, maneuvering its legs to create an excellent trap. Then, it started to scale the wall. Hero looked as it climbed higher and higher out of his sight. He wondered…

Hero again placed a hand on the wall and started pulling down. Somehow, with even one hand, he was lifting himself. Instinctually, he slapped his other hand higher up, which became stuck. He also placed his feet on the walls, and somehow, even they got stuck. He tried to relax his right hand as he gently tried to pull it away, not too hard, so as not to displace any more bricks. Hero freed his hand, and he pulled himself a little higher. One foot became free as he placed it higher again. It was an awkward process, but he was slowly climbing the wall. He developed a rhythm for climbing and started using only his fingertips and toes to proceed up the wall. As he looked down, he saw he was probably about 30 or so feet off the ground.

“Holy crap.” He said, gripping the wall harder. He wondered if he could climb even higher and onto the roof. He started to rise faster until he was eventually up on the building. He pulled himself over the edge and looked around from the top. The building he was on wasn’t that tall compared to the city's skyscrapers, yet he had a nice view of the small suburbs from here. From up here, he could also spot his friends feeding ducks at the nearby lake. He was far away, so they likely wouldn’t see him.

His senses kicked up again as his head turned to see a spider. It was just releasing some webbing, seemingly for no reason. Suddenly, the spider jumped up, and the wind blew it and its webbing into the air. Hero was amazed as the spider began to fly up and over to the city. He had read that some spiders can fly using the wind, but that only ever scared him. Now, he was amazed. He wondered if he could make webs himself. He looked at his wrists and felt his skin crawl as he saw two barely visible blobs of white under his skin and a tiny hole in each wrist. This just kept getting better.

Hero raised his hand to the adjacent nearby building and flexed his wrist. Nothing seemed to happen. He swung his hand forward. He thrust it. He shook it wildly. He held out each finger. But nothing seemed to happen.

“Come on…!” Hero pressed his middle and ring fingers down on his palm, and suddenly, a string rope shot out and grappled onto the wall. Hero’s eyes widened as he realized what he had done. He raised his index and pinky fingers like sightlines to aim his next shot. He fired another rope from his wrist, and it shot over the top of the building. 

“What the hell…How is this possible?” Then, he had an idea. He walked over to another edge of the building. He saw a large tree a fair distance away, almost as tall as the building he was standing on. No pedestrians or cars were coming. How far could his webs go? He aimed his wrist carefully and fired. The web reached well over a hundred feet and hit a branch. Hero was amazed. He still had some webbing in his wrist and pulled it out without thinking. It didn’t hurt, but it sort of unnerved him. And it was hardly sticky and more like a light jump rope. He placed it onto the building's edge, sticking flawlessly onto the bricks. He pulled it off the bricks and wrapped it around his hand. Could he swing that far without hitting the ground?

“...Tally ho.”

Hero jumped off the building and swung forward. He held in his screams as much as he could as he barreled toward the ground. But just before he hit the ground, he just barely grazed it and started going up into the air as he completed the entire swing. Hero rose into the air and let go of the rope, flipping in the air and landing on top of a branch. He shook the entire tree as he landed. Hero had never felt something more exhilarating in his life! He had superpowers! He couldn’t stop himself from cheering. The excitement in his heart was incredible.

“...Oh no. I’m going to be a spider for the rest of my life, aren't I?” The horrible realization had just set in. He had been horrified of spiders his entire life, and now he had spider-themed superpowers. He sat down on the branch as the weight of what had happened to him finally set in. He just wondered why it was him. Why couldn’t someone else who actually liked spiders get these powers? How come he didn’t get cooking-themed powers or something?

Crack!

“Oh- Oh sh–!”

The branch snapped.

Hero fell from the top of the tree, but just before he hit the ground, by instinct, he webbed above him and snagged onto a branch, slowing him down before he hit the ground. He hung upside down before lowering himself down and landing on his feet.

“Hey, maybe this won’t be so bad after all. I could probably get used to this.” He thought to himself before kneeling down and looking at himself. He really did have power, just like Mari said. How could he use them?

But then another branch fell down and hit him in the spine, dropping him to the ground.

“ACK– Ow, my back–!”

“Hey, kids! Did you have fun today?” Hero and his friends walked through the door to his house

“Oh yeah! We had fun! We were getting ice cream and hanging out at the lake!” Kel said, smiling. The group decided it would be best not to tell the parents about today's strange incidents. The last thing they needed was more people worrying about them. Hero’s back still hurt from the tree fall, but he hid his pain from his friends so they didn’t notice. Hero excused himself upstairs to take a breather. He still had no idea of what his potential was like. He lay on his bed, trying to stop his senses from firing off like hydraulics. He felt so overstimulated by his heightened senses. On top of that, he felt so afraid of something sticking to his hand and not letting go. He just tried to calm himself down.

The hairs on the back of his neck spiked up again. He had just heard a very faint scream. He jumped up and opened his window. He listened to some woman calling for help four blocks down and three blocks to the right. It was faint, but he could still hear it, even from all the way over here. It was dark outside. Would anyone see him if he started running? More importantly, could he return before someone in his house noticed he was gone? The woman sounded like she was getting mugged or attacked in some way. By impulse, he jumped out of his window and fell a story down, breaking his fall. He started running in the direction of the scream.

The hero could still make out her voice even as some cars sped by. As he ran, he worried he wouldn’t help her in time. But then he had an idea. He remembered the webbing thing he could do. He waited until no cars were driving by, put on his jacket’s hood, and fired a web to a nearby building. It hit just under a big window, and Hero began swinging. He swung above into the air before firing another web at another tall building and swinging from there. In the darkness of the late summer sky, he was hardly noticeable. He started going as fast as he could, all fueled by pure instincts. He heard the woman call out again, and Hero had arrived at an alleyway. He swung directly into a wall, slamming into it and hurting himself, but still latched onto it with his sticky hands.

“Stop screaming! Just hand over the fucking money, or I’ll gut you!” An older man, maybe early forties, was threatening some woman with a large knife. The woman, maybe in her early thirties, had tears running down her face. She was horrified at the man about to assault her. Hero crawled over the corner of the alleyway about fifteen feet above the man. He shot a web down on the man's back and stuck it on the wall he was crawling on, pulling the man up into the air and dropping his knife by surprise.

“W-WHAT THE SHIT–?!” The man yelled as he was slammed into the wall by Hero. Hero had an uncharacteristic level of hate in his blood as he glared into the man's eyes.

“You leave her alone!” Hero told the man, gripping him by the collar.

“What the fuck?! Who the fuck are you?!” The man latched onto Hero’s arm, trying to pry himself free. Hero’s inhuman strength didn’t budge as the man desperately tried to free himself.

“Diseal?! What the fuck?!” Hero heard another voice as he saw a younger man, no older than himself, standing in the alleyway, but this time holding a gun. Hero instinctively jumped toward the young man, tackling him to the ground before he could even react. He tumbled to the ground with the man before Hero jumped off and landed swiftly on a dumpster, landing with his feet apart and in a pose ready to take action.

“What the hell?! What are you?” The young man fired his gun three times toward Hero. Hero leaped forward. The first bullet just missed his right thigh as he turned mid-jump. The second bullet went nowhere near him and slammed into the brick wall behind Hero. The third bullet missed his left ear and tore through the back of his hood, knocking it down. Hero grabbed the young man and somersaulted with him before placing his foot in the man's chin, kicking him high into the air, crashing him into the brick wall of the alleyway, and firing his webbing at his chest, locking him in place, and firing more of his webbing into the man's arm, causing him to drop the pistol.

Hero’s heart was nearly exploding with adrenaline after the fight. He just saved some woman's life! He put his hood back up and turned to the two men stuck to the wall.

“What the fuck is this?! Who are you?!” Hero fired another web into the man's mouth, shutting him up. The younger man tried to free himself with his other arm before Hero fired another web at that arm, locking him in place.

“Oh, what the hell, man?! Just let us go!” The younger guy whined.

“After that? No. You tried to kill me, AND this nice lady! You deserve to go to jail!” Hero barked. He looked at the woman. She looked more scared of him than the criminals. Hero’s face softened as he tried to look non-threatening. “H-hey, it’s okay. I heard you were in danger and had to help.”

“...thank you,” she said softly before running away.

“Oh, fuck off! What’s it to you, jackass?!” That was all the man needed to say before Hero shut him up, too. He hoped the police would come by soon. Hero stomped his foot on the pistol to be safe, breaking the barrel and rendering it useless. He quickly dashed out of the alley and started swinging back home. He hoped he didn’t attract any attention as he swung through the night sky.

Hero came back to his house with the window still open. He heard Basil and Aubrey talking from downstairs over dinner and their day together. Hero quietly snuck back into his room, gently crawled on the ceiling across the room, and closed the door as slowly as possible. He gently placed himself down on the floor, going completely undetected. 

That is until he saw Kel sitting on his bed.

The two stared at each other, having no idea what to say to each other.

“...how did you–” In a panic, Hero shot a web to his brother's mouth, causing him to let out a muffled scream from seeing his brother do that.

“KEL– SHH! NO– BE QUIET–!” Hero frantically tried to calm his younger sibling down, silencing him as best he could. “Kel, shush! I’ll take it off. Just please listen to me–!” Kel was still freaking out over his brother, who seemingly had spider powers. His muffled screaming slowed down as his breathing calmed.

“Okay, Kel, listen; I got bitten by a spider that belonged to, I assume, Oscorp. It did something to me, but now I’m super strong. I can climb walls and make webs like a spider. I have no idea how, but I just can! Please don’t tell anyone! I don’t want to be dissected by some government agents!”

Kel's eyes were in disbelief as he heard what was being told. Hero gently began peeling the webbing off his brother's face, praying that he wouldn’t start yelling again.

“...Henry, you have spider superpowers?”

“Well– I, um…Yes, yes, I do.”

“...Woah.”

“...What do you mean ‘woah’?”

“...My brother is going to be a superhero.” Kel smiled like he had never smiled before.