Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Excerpt from local newspaper: 𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙉𝙔𝙈𝙊𝙐𝙎 𝙑𝙄𝙂𝙄𝙇𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 𝙄𝙎 𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘼𝙏 𝙇𝘼𝙍𝙂𝙀.

It's officially been a month now since the very first sighting of this ominous 'Spider-Man'. Little is known about the vigilante, other than his liking to the theatrics, and use of web-like string to catch his prey. Yesterday police have found a man reportedly caught within what appeared to be a giant spider web, begging to be let down. The man's identity remains anonymous, but he did give some insight on this mysterious attacker.

"Listen, I don't like what I do, alright?" The man stated, as he was questioned by police. "But I needed cash, I was just fired from my job last Tuesday... I had no choice, man. So I see this chick walking this dark alley. The shit she's wearin' looked real expensive too.

So I did what I had to; I showed her my gun. The lady got the idea pretty quickly of course, handing the purse over, no arguing or nuthin'. It was goin' smoothly 'till...

There was like, this string or somethin', attached to the lady's purse and yanked it right outta my hands! Of course, I looked up, and I saw that - that... thing! It was red n' black... And these fuckin' sickly static eyes... Whatever it is, it ain't human! Hangin' on the wall, like some damn bug! I was pissin' myself, the only thing I could hear was the lady screamin' Bloody Mary in my ear.

By instinct I went to shoot the thing, but it grabbed my gun! Crushed it with it's bare hand. Then the thing grabbed me, pulled me up by the collar of my damn shirt!

All I could see was my own damn mug reflected into it's eyes.. Like I was some fuckin' fly, it started constructin' this... webbing around me. I was totally stuck, man. Lady musta' ran away cause the only thing I could hear was that thing's breathing... It just kept breathing an' breathing, right in my face... I swear to whatever's up there, if you boys hadn't shown up it woulda' eaten me!"

As of today, Police commissioner DeWolff has issued an arrest warrant for the Spider-Man. If you see anything that can be of use, please contact your local police station.

A teenage boy walks across the sidewalk, Autumn leaves crunch between his beaten-up sneakers. The young man's short fluffy brunette hair flowed in the air as he walked. His backpack hung around the shoulder of his blue hoodie, which he had thrown on top of his gray sweater vest. He turned his attention towards the small, yet comfy house on his left. Fixing the large circular frames of his glasses, he approached the porch of the house.

Taking a key out of the pocket of his dark green jeans, he stuck it inside the keyhole of the doorknob. The teenager then pushed the door open. Taking an earbud out, letting it dangle on his vest.

"Ben? May? I'm home!" He shouted upon his arrival. The boy entered the kitchen, where an older couple sat at a small dining table, just big enough for the three of them. The woman wore a blue blouse with her graying black hair neatly tied into a ponytail. Across from her, the man wore a dark blue turtleneck, his brunette hair thrown into a messy manbun.

The couple smiled as their nephew had arrived, the man throwing his hand up. "Hey, Pete! How was school?" Lazily tossing his backpack aside, Peter let out a soft sigh in response. The woman tilted her head, her expression softening a bit. "Was it that bad?" she asked, concern in her voice. "Well... I couldn't exactly call it thrilling..." Peter responded, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Is that boy still messing with you?" Ben asked, fixing his rectangular frames upon his face. "Flash? Well... Yeah, but... What else is new?" Peter replied, with a soft shrug of his shoulders.

A grumble, May put down the cup of tea she had in her hands. "I really oughta talk to that boy.." she said. A soft chuckle escaped Ben's lips, placing a gentle hand on top May's. "Well, let's not release the Kraken just yet." Peter glanced over at his backpack, the binder poking out from inside the unzipped pouch. "Right..." he sighed out.

He picked up his backpack, and slung it around his shoulder. "I've got tons of homework to do, I'll be done before dinner." May gave him a soft nod. "Well, okay. But no snacking, you hear me? I'm preparing the meatloaf as we speak." Ben's nose curled up again at the mention of Meatloaf, adjusting his posture in his chair. "Aw, meatloaf again?" May turned to him, glaring daggers. Ben's expression softened a bit as he spoke once more, knowing he just brought upon his wife's wrath "..Aw, crud."

Peter walked into his room, scanning it. Comic books neatly ordered in their respective bookcases, with surprisingly nerdier books in their own. A bunch of science jargon crap. A collection of Star Wars brand Legos placed on his drawers, as if to replace where any medals or rewards would've gone. He walked up to a poster he had hung up right behind his twin-sized bed. He sighed softly, rolling his eyes.

"Right... I forgot that awful new Superman movie came out a few weeks ago, with Henry What's-His-Face... Can't believe I was excited for that." He shook off the thought. Sitting on his bed, pulling out his binder. Sharpening his pencil, and putting his earbud back in. He started to work on his homework. It was all pretty easy for him, if not tedious, not to mention boring.

It was until there was a knock on Peter's door. Luckily he had his music turned down enough to hear it. He pulled his earbud from his ear, turning his attention to the door. "Uh, come in!" he shouted. as the door opened, Ben entered his room.

Peter seemed a bit confused, tilting his head, "What's up?" he asked. "Oh, nothing." Ben responded, sitting down next to Peter. "Y'know, I'm probably gonna be sleeping on the couch tonight." Peter chuckled softly, shaking his head softly. "You should probably just apologize before it's too late." Ben smiled and sighed "Oh, I probably will." he said with a laugh. There was a silence between them, Ben glanced down towards the work Peter had in his lap. "How you can make any sense of that is beyond me." he chuckled softly. Peter looked down at his homework, before back over at Ben. "Well... It's honestly pretty simple." Ben sighed softly, shaking his head.

There was another silence, before Ben finally decided to break it once more. "You know that boy's afraid of you, right?" Peter looked over at Ben, confused. "What?" he chuckled prematurely, but Ben didn't. "That Flash boy. Why do you think he's always picking on you?" Peter sighed, and shook his head. Tapping his pencil against the paper, "Because he thinks he's better than me, that's why.."

Ben scoffed softly "No, you knucklehead. He picks on you, because he / wants / to feel better than you. That type of man, the big, loud, obnoxious type? There is nothing they fear more than someone with brains." Peter just looked down at his homework, before back over at his uncle. "All I'll say is... Don't let a spider have you running, because it's more scared of you than you are of it." Ben said, patting Peter's shoulder before he stood back up, going to leave.

"Hey, Uncle Ben?" Peter's voice stopped him, turning towards the teenager. "Yeah?" he asked, "...I love you, y'know." Ben smiled softly, nodding softly. "Yeah, I know... I love you too, kiddo." he left Peter's room, closing the door behind him.

The next day, May's blue 2001 Kia Optima drove up to the high school. "Alright." the woman said, glancing over at her nephew. "Have a good day, alright?" she gave him a tender smile. "I'll try... See ya when I get home, Aunt May." the teenager grabbed his bag, grabbing the handle to open the car door. "See you, Peter. Oh, And please, please be careful on your way home. I hear there have been more sightings of that Slenderman, since that awful birthday party incident."

Peter chuckles softly, and shook his head. "May, you really shouldn't believe everything you hear. That 'Slenderman' crap's just urban legend. Those photos are prime photoshop." Pushing the door open, placing a foot outside. "Still, please do be careful." Peter nodded, and responded. "I will, that's a promise."

Peter left the vehicle, and threw his backpack over his shoulder as he entered the building. Walking the hallway, squeezing his way through the clusters of teenagers, on his way to class. He bumped right into the back of a red lettermen, which belong to head of the school's football team, Flash Thompson. "Hey, watch where you're going, Parker!"

Peter stumbled back a bit, fixing his glasses as he glared up at the figure towering over him. Scanning the dumb smug look on his face, and his stupid ginger flat top. "Oh piss off, Flash. I'm just trying to get to class." Flash laughed, amused. "Some nerve, Parker. You wanna go?" Peter huffed out from his nose, retorting "Oh sure, you're just gonna beat on some kid half your size in front of everybody? Wouldn't that make you look all big and brave, huh?" Flash considered his words for a second, before rolling his eyes and shoving Peter back against the lockers, with a single arm. "Whatever, man." he huffed out, walking away.

Sitting down in English, he set his backpack to the side. He glanced over at the small crowd of students walking through the door shortly after, when he spotted a girl in the crowd. Her brunette hair lazily brushed in side-part, sporting a dark green zipped-up hoodie, and a pair of jeans. Natalie Ouellette, a.k.a, the girl Peter's been crushing on the entire school year. She sat down at her desk, a few rows ahead of him, and immediately popped her back against the metal chair behind her. He's spent the entire year practically swooning over Ouellette, yet he was far too nervous to even attempt an interaction.

Quickly, he was snapped out of his daze by the booming voice of Miss Homenuik. "Alright, real quick, I have an announcement! Tomorrow we'll be going on a fieldtrip to the local science center for an exhibit. I'll be passing around papers, make sure you get them signed by your parents or guardians tonight."

This immediately piqued Peter's interest, once the paper was handed to him he scanned it over. Stuffing it into his backpack. He had always had a huge fascination with science, ever since he was a boy. It was the subject of a lot of bullying through the years, but his love for it powered through.

The next day, Peter had gotten his paper signed by his aunt and uncle, after sitting on that school bus for seemingly ages, they had finally arrived at the science center. With him he brought Ben's old Kodak camera from the 90s. Photography has always been a hobby of Peter's since Ben let him borrow that very same camera when he was four years old. As Peter exited the bus, he was promptly shoved out of the way by Flash. "Hey!' he exclaimed out, fixing his glasses with a glare towards the jock, whom was clearly holding back laughter. "Why did he have to choose today not to skip?" he muttered to himself. "Are you talking to yourself?" a girl's voice cut in. He turned towards it to see Nat looking at him. Eyebrow raised with her hands stuffed in her pockets. "U - Uh, no! I was... y'know..." Peter stuttered out, which Natalie responded to with a shrug "It's cool, I do the same thing sometimes."

Peter's eyes widened ever-so slightly. "I... Really?" he asked, still clearly shaken in a flustered state. "Yeah." she responded. "But, we really oughta get inside with everybody else." she gestured towards the science center. "Yeah.." Peter muttered out. Natalie began walking away, but paused. Turning her head back towards the boy.

"...You really shouldn't let that asshole push you around, by the way." she spoke with another shrug, before leaving the conversation. Peter sorta stood there for a second, processing these sudden events. Before he snapped out of it, and ran towards the rest of the group.

Throughout the tour, Peter took photographs of all kinds of different exhibits. He was clearly in his element here. If he could ignore the snickered and taunting of Flash and his mindless pals, he was actually having a decently good time! Not to mention the fact that Natalie actually talked to him, for the first time ever. He listened intently at the guide, as they explained the scientifically engineered spiders, using radiation to create new breeds. Aiming his camera at the containers, he couldn't help but notice a spider was missing... He shrugged off the thought, and as he took the photo...

a sting, on his hand. it was slight at first, but it rapidly grew more unbearable. Peter sucked in through his teeth, and looked over at his hand holding the camera. On his hand was a spider, who had just bitten down on his hand. The moment he spotted the arachnid, the pain grew from a sting in his hand, to excruciating burning that was spreading throughout his entire body.

He yelled out in pain, holding his hand up. Everybody immediately turned to him. It didn't take long for the other students to start freaking out. Girls screaming, the jocks laughing, but Nat... When Peter turned to Nat, her emerald eyes shined above the rest of the chaos. All pain immediately turned into embarrassment, as he shook the spider off. Placing his other hand ontop of the bite. "I-... I'm fine, I..." this was all he was able to mutter out, before he immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.

𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙋... 𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙋... 𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙋... Peter's eyelids slowly lifted, as he began focusing on his surroundings he came to the realization that he was in a hospital room. He lifted his head slowly, scanning his surroundings. "Well, look who's up." he heard a familiar comforting voice, turning to his side to see his aunt and uncle sat there. "There's my fighter." he chuckled, ruffling Peter's hair. "Oh, Peter!" May quickly, held his cheek. "I'm so glad you're finally up, are you okay? Do you feel ill?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders softly, a tad overwhelmed by the sudden attention. But it wasn't entirely unwelcome. "I'm fine, I'm fine..." he responded, with soft laughter. "C'mon, kiddo. I need to get movin' before I end up in the bed right next to you."

As they left the hospital, walking across the parking lot to May's car. Peter had one thought on his mind... That spider, supposedly bred using radiation, it couldn't have been just a regular spider bite, there was no way... That pain, that specific burning pain... It must've done something to him. However, he chose to shake off the thoughts as he entered the car.

The next day at, Peter was at school. In French class, which was his last period. Tapping his pencil against his notebook out of boredom. He was feeling a bit under the weather today, but he had no idea why. Glancing behind him, spotting Natalie. French was one of the few classes he shared with her. She was hunched over her desk, doodling in her notebook. He's noticed this was a bit of a pattern for her... He's always wondered what it was she would sketch out. He was sure, however, that it must be something real special.

Suddenly, a crumpled up ball of paper snapped Peter out of his focus on Ouellette. Peter's head quickly moved out of the way, subconsciously. He stared at the ball for a second, a bit caught off guard. Before he immediately turned towards the direction of the source. Just as he suspected, it was Flash Thompson. Placing a hand on top of his other, to replicate a spider. He mouths mimicking screams, as his group of cronies giggled and snickered. Peter huffed softly, and rolled his eyes.

Not too long after, once class was dismissed Peter walked out of the building. Walking home from school just like always. Still, however, he was feeling... Almost sickly. Ever since that bite, he felt like he could throw up any second now. What was going on with him? Maybe he should see the doctor agai - -

𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙉𝙆 a car came barreling in, and moments before it made impact. The teen's body reacted on instict, he leaped onto a nearby building. "Oy!" he shouted out "Watch where you're driving, dude!" eventually his adrenaline died down, and Peter realized that... He was stuck onto the wall.

"Woah... What the...?" lifting a hand up, he slowly lifted himself further up the wall. He unstuck one hand from the wall, looking down at his palm. He let out a bewildered laugh, as he proceeded to continue climbing up the wall. Once he got high enough, he felt this... Urge. An urge he decided to act on. Without a second thought, he leaped off of the building. Bouncing and jumping from fire escape, railing, and rooftop. He never felt so free in his life. "Whoo-hoo!" he shouted out, landing on another rooftop. One with a great view of the city below him.

He lowered himself onto the side of it, sticking his hand onto the building. Looking down at the life of the city below him, with a huge grin on his face. "This is... insane!" he exclaimed to himself, already he was racking his brain on ideas. "Imagine what I could do with these powers... Everybody will love me! I mean, there's no way Nat can ignore me now."

But before Peter could finish his fantasy he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A group of men walking the street, all of them wearing red ski masks. He watched as they walked into a parking lot, up to some guy walking out of the drug store.

"Hey, dumbass!" one of the masked men shouted. The man, frightened, stumbled back. "No fucking runnin', chief." another spat out, grabbing onto him. The man panicked, struggling. "Help, please!" he called out, looking around at the passersby. But nobody intervened... In fact, one of them pulled out their phone and started recording the jumping. The biggest of the masked thugs smacked the man against the side of his head, a cruel laugh as he dropped to the ground from the impact.

The masked man turned around, scanning the others around him. "Hey... Where the hell is Mac?" the others checked around the area, but it didn't take long before they got their answers. "Hey!" they heard a voice call out, echoing throughout the silence. Peter was heading directly towards them, wearing a red ski mask to protect his identity. "Leave him alone." he demanded, shifting his posture to appear more intimidating. The men only laughed, the biggest approaching him. "Who the fuck do you think you are, kid?" Peter's eyes narrowed, his fists clenching up. "I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass worse than the type two diabetes, asshole!"

A growl came from the man, before taking a deep breath. He glanced back at the men backing him up for less than a second, before throwing a punch. Peter immediately dodged to the side, hitting the man with a powerful right hook. He stumbled back into his cronies, at the drop of a hat they all began grouping up on the boy. Peter was able to get a few swings in, but it didn't take long for him to be overwhelmed by the sheer power.

They knocked him to the ground, all four of the men wailing on him. He was struggling to hold onto consciousness, there were people watching. He couldn't give up, he was done being walked all over by these... bullies.

Grabbing onto the concrete, Peter lifted his legs and kicked the man in front directly in the mouth. Causing him to fall back. In one swift movement Peter would rise to his feet, almost like liquid. He cried out in anger, throwing powerful punches into the faces of each crook. Taking them out almost instantly. The biggest guy was down last, Peter, in a blitz of rage pounced onto the man. Sending his fists into the man's jaw over and over. Bullies. All of them. They're nothing more than bullies. With a final punch to the side of the head, the man was out cold.

Peter was catching his breath, snapping out from his rage. He stood up, and looked around. The silence was soon replaced with cheering, clapping. Before he could react the victim hugged him. "Thank you! I-I owe you my life!" Peter's expression shifted behind the mask. Once was rage, now a huge grin. He waved at the newly founded crowd, and most importantly, the cameras.

Yeah... He could get used to this. Somebody from the crowd shouted "Who are you?!" he thought for a second... If he was gonna do this crime fighting gimmick, he'd need a cool alias. "Well... You can call me... The Human Spider!" the person paused for a second. "Nah, that sucks... How about, Spider-Man!" Peter scratched at the back of his head, before shrugging it off. "Uh.. Sure, that works too."

That footage of this 'Spider-Man' immediately went viral online. Peter knew that if he truly wanted to be a superhero, he needed a costume. Using the allowance he had (and May's sewing machine), he used the materials he had to make his own costume. a red & black body suit, covered in a web pattern drawn with sharpie. one black spider emblem on his chest, and another blue one on his back to really drive the theme home. Some netting under the arms, just for the sake of flashiness. And finally, modifying the red mask with sharpie, and reflective lenses. He became... sort of a celebrity around the area. Thwarting crimes (whether or not these were staged is... debatable.), doing interviews, and, of course, taking sponsorships.

razors, mobile games, earbuds. All of which had the ole' Spidey seal of approval. The money of which was used to help his Aunt and Uncle pay for his medical bills.

Peter Parker was loving the spotlight to say the least, even if nobody knew it was him. Last week at school, he overheard Flash talking about some big party being thrown at his house that weekend. Of course, Peter Parker wasn't invited but... How could they say no to Spider-Man making a guest appearance? Who knows, maybe Ms. Natalie Ouellette might be there.

Saturday night, and Flash Thompson was chatting up a few girls on the cheer team at his party. A red solo cup in his hand. The party was as lively as it gets, underaged drinking and chaos galore. "Guys, look!" somebody called out. Spider-Man walked into the party, scanning the area, doesn't seem like Nat's here... Guess, she wasn't really the party type anyways. "Hey kids, just thought I'd drop by."

Flash dropped his drink, his jaw practically on the floor. "Holy shit, Spider-Man!" he shouted, immediately rushing towards him. "Whoa, hey what's up dude--" "I'm your biggest fan, man! Will- You- What're you doin' here??" This was... unbelievable. Flash Thompson was totally fangirling over him, he couldn't decide if this was hilarious or... really sad.

"Well, er- I was just in the neighborhood y'know." Flash laughed, punching his arm. "Dude! You've gotta stay a little while! Yo, I heard you can shoot webs out of your ass!"

"Uh... Well, no. But uh- I can do this!" with a leap into the air, Peter stuck his hand onto the ceiling. The crowd below him, including Flash, immediately freaking out. Peter slowly smirked behind the mask. It felt amazing to finally get attention, especially from his classmates. He spent the entire party showing off his abilities and reflexes to the party goers. It was damn near the most fun he's ever had. But it was getting late. "Alright, well... I'd love to stay, fellas, but it's getting late and--" He was interrupted by a girl, clearly drunk, clinging onto him.

"Awe, c'mon Spidey, stayy. Y'know, I think you're pretty cutee." Peter's shoulders shrugged up. "I think... you're really drunk, Liz." he carefully pulled away. "Uh.. See you kids around." he waved them off, leaving through the front door.

Once out of sight, he took the mask off. With a huge grin on his face, he spoke to himself. "This... Is the greatest thing to ever happen to me... God, I wish I could kiss that spider! Or... No, that's weird... But, I'd definitely shake one of it's hands at least!" he looked down at the mask in his hands. He intended on making this last as long as pos-- "Peter Benjamin Parker." he heard a familiar voice. Looking ahead, he saw his Uncle Ben stood in front of May's parked car. A stern look on his face.

"I- Wait, Uncle Ben, I can--" Ben cut him off, bitter disappointment in his voice. "No need. So, 'Spider-Man'. Is this what you do now? Go to these big parties and show off to the masses? Is this how you use these gifts?" Peter groaned, so this was how he was gonna be? "Are you serious right now? I've been walked all over all my life, this is my one chance to..." Ben interrupted. "To what, Peter? To be the center of attention?"

Ben sighed, his tone lowering a bit. He went over to his nephew, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Pete, come on. You and me both know you're better than this. These... things you can do, I can't even understand them but... I know one and that is... with 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧, comes 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮." Peter sat there in silence, before shaking his head. "Ben, no... Not this time, I don't need your lecturing... You don't control what I do, alright?

This is the happiest I've ever been! I'm not letting no one take it away from me!" Peter pushed Ben's hand away, running away into the distance. "Peter! Wait, come back!" Ben sighed, fixing his glasses before following him.

Peter was walking down the street alone. He's sick and tired of life as Peter Parker. Putting the mask back over his head, transforming himself back into Spider-Man. He was left alone to his thoughts until... "Spider-Man! Oh my god, Spider-Man!!" he turned around, to see a man chasing after him. He clung onto the hero immediately. "Y- You gotta help me, man! It's-it's..!!" The man was terrified, pale as if he had seen a ghost. "Whoa, hey take it easy. What's going on?"

"It's- It's him! Jeff the Killer, he's gonna murder me!" The man looked at Spider-Man, as if he was his savior. But all he did was scoff, pushing him off of his person. "Seriously?? Listen dude, I've got a lot to deal with right now. I don't have time for nuts like you." the man dropped to his knees, in absolute despair. As Spidey just walked away. Jeff the Killer? What's next, Santa Claus?

Walking the darkened streets of the suburban neighborhood, Ben Parker looked into the distance, scanning the nearby area for his nephew. "Peter!" he shouted out. When he heard a gut wrenching scream come from a nearby alleyway. Turning his attention to it, now what on earth could that possibly be? Approaching the alley, the brief silence was broken up by the pleas of a terrified man "Help! Oh my god, help!" a man dashed towards Ben, hugging onto him. "Woah, hey... What are--"

Before he could finish his sentence he felt something warm dripping onto his arm, it was hard to make out in the darkness but he knew right away. "Are you bleeding?" the man clung onto Ben's shirt, tears in his eyes. "H-He's gonna kill me..." Immediately, Ben took off his coat and wrapped it around the man's wounded arm. "Hey, listen... You're gonna be okay, understand?" the man couldn't even respond any more, just frantically shaking his head. "I just- I'll call the police, and I'll wait for you out here--" there was a sudden wet sound, as a knife was thrown into the back of the man's head, tearing through the man's flesh in an instant.

Ben could only watch in disbelief, as the man dropped onto the ground. Ben fell with him, holding him in his arms as he died. "Oh... Oh my god..." was all Ben could mutter. There was a dark sadistic chuckle coming from deeper into the pitch black alley. Some... thing slowly walks out from the dark. Inhumanly pale skin, mostly covered by long knotted black hair. The thing stared down at Ben, as he looked up, frozen in shock. It was smiling, a grin cut deep into it's cheeks, nightmarishly large. As if only mocking the smile of a human being.

Wrapping its boney hand around the knife planted into the now deceased man's corpse, it slowly pulled the weapon out. Savoring every wet sound, it stepped closer to Ben, slowly leaning down. It whispered one sentence into his ear with a dark gravelly voice.

"𝙂𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥."

It's been three weeks since Ben Parker had been found dead. His body discovered by a woman, who then quickly contacted the authorities. He had a fatal knife wound in his stomach, his mouth carved into that of a cruel smile.

A recently widowed woman sits alone at a dining table. She carefully traces lines across her teacup with the tip of her finger. This terrible grief was so sudden, at any second she feels that her husband will come downstairs from their room and tell her to come back to bed... But she knows that's not going to happen, not anymore. The house has felt so damn empty... And Peter, he doesn't come home from school anymore, he's always sneaking in when the threat of the sun rising is at large. May glances out the window, pitch black out. Where does Peter go? He never tells her, he never tells her where these random bruises come from... Nothing.

She closes her eyes, and quietly mourns her lost husband.

Alone.

A figure searches the streets, only motivated by pure repressed anger and rage. For the past few months he's spent his time going out as his new identity in wailing on anybody he perceives as a bully. But his end goal, was to find whoever did this. Whoever took his father from him, and kill them.

Witness has said that they've seen a man in a white hoodie and shoulder length black hair nearby the area around the time of the murder, said witness has also been later found dead in their home. This had to be the guy. Peter had "borrowed" a police radio dispatch. Just waiting for those fateful words he'd hear that night, while perched in a nearby alleyway...

"𝘾𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝙐𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙎, 𝙍𝙀𝙋𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙎 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙄𝙉 𝙈𝘼𝙏𝘾𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙇𝙔 𝙒𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙋'𝙎 𝘼𝙋𝙋𝙀𝘼𝙍𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀: 𝙒𝙃𝙄𝙏𝙀 𝙃𝙊𝙊𝘿𝙄𝙀, 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝙐𝙈 𝙇𝙀𝙉𝙂𝙏𝙃 𝘽𝙇𝘼𝘾𝙆 𝙃𝘼𝙄𝙍. 𝙉𝙀𝘼𝙍𝘽𝙔 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙍𝙐𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙊𝙉 𝘽𝙍𝙊𝘼𝘿𝙒𝘼𝙔."

"Found you."

It sits there, finding a place it believes it can lay low for a second. It spends its time, hunched over. Slowly, and carefully, sharpening its knife. Holding the blade up, it pierced it into the wooden table. Perfect. A loud crash quickly gets his attention. He spins around behind him, noticing a paint bucket had been knocked over, red paint spilled all over the floor. The creature let out an annoyed growl, tearing his knife out from the wooden planks of the table. He investigated the area.

"Damn rats... I'll gut cha' little bastards..."

The second he turned the corner a voice boomed out from behind.

"𝙈𝙐𝙍𝘿𝙀𝙍𝙀𝙍!!"

Before he could react however, he felt the impact of a figure pouncing on him from behind, pinned down against this person's weight, he was repeatedly punched in the back of the head.

"I'll kill you, you... you monster! I'll kill you!"

It was absolutely furious, a growing growl turned into a roar as it broke itself free. Sending it's perpetrator flying. Turning around, only to see some punk kid in a Halloween costume. "Who the fuck... Do you think you are?" it spoke in bitter annoyance. Spider-Man picked himself up from his feet. Panting softly. "It doesn't matter." Leaping towards it in a manner impossible for a human, the masked vigilante grabbed the monster by its hoodie, throwing it into the scaffolding of the construction. This caused the murderer's hood to fall down from the impact, revealing its face... The smile, the skin, the eyes...

"No.. You- You aren't real!" The boy yelled, in denial at what was before his eyes. Only laughter came from Jeff, slowly raising itself off the ground. "Aren't I, kid?" it said with a sadistic grin. "You.." is all the teenager could mutter, he was piecing it all together just then... The man that begged him for help, the one he abandoned that night... Ben tried to help him didn't he? Then he- if Peter would've just- Then...

Peter could only ponder for so long, before he was snapped out of it by Jeff's sudden attack. Swinging his blade at him in a vicious manner. Spidey managed to swiftly dodge clear of the swing for his throat. But got nicked on the shoulder, leaving himself off balance just enough for...

A sudden sharp agonizing pain, as he feels the blade of Jeff's knife tear into his skin, and begin piercing his flesh. Right in his side, almost immediately the crimson blood began gushing out. A scream tore through his vocal cords, as he fell to the ground. His hearing zoned in and out, but even that didn't stop that horrible laugh from shredding his eardrums. The blade soon escaped from the wound torn into Peter's flesh. Causing him to quickly hold his hand up to it, pressing down.

Jeff held its knee up against Peter's stomach, pinning him down. "Well, that was... Annoying." He spoke with that stupid grin, pressing the knife against his neck. "Please, would you be a fuckin' dear and remind me... What's the phrase again?" putting more pressure against Peter's neck. Almost enough to draw blood.

This was it, wasn't it? Dying by the hands of the creature who took his Uncle away from him... Going out exactly as he lived, bitter.

Peter reflected on all of his mistakes as of late... using his gifts for fame and fortune, Running away from any actual call for responsibility and... This was what he got for it. Maybe this was what he deserved, was it not? But... No, what of his Aunt May? She just lost her husband, she can't lose him too, she doesn't deserve that. He has to power through.

His free hand twitched softly, before grabbing around for anything... Before, he felt something. A piece of scaffolding, from Jeff's landing. He picked up, using all the strength he could muster, he smack Jeff in the side of the head with it. The impact knocked it off of him.

Quickly, he scrambles over towards the knocked down creature. Pinning him down with the pressure of his own weight, he pressed the pipe against Jeff's throat. Applying as much pressure as he could. "I should kill you... Right now..." He growled out. The satisfaction of the beast's gags, It's struggle to breathe felt all too powerful. Right when he was about to press down harder something... Stopped him. He swears, he can feel a hand on his shoulder. A presence so soothing that his anger and fury stop for a second. "But... But that's not what he would've wanted, is it?"

He mutters to himself, dropping the pipe. "Lucky for you, he was a man of peace. All I can do is try my best to live up to even a fraction of that." Jeff sits there, staring blankly up at this so-called "hero". Coughing up, catching its breath. "What... The hell're you blabbering about?!" It yelled out in desperate confusion, slowly boiling over into rage.

"Oh nothin', just forget I even said anything." Spider-Man retorted, crossing his arms. Enraged by the mockery, Jeff went to throw a fist at him. But it was caught with great haste. Spidey would then retaliate with a twist to its wrist, causing it to yell out in pain. He got up to his feet, turning around before stopping at the sound of that damned laughter. He turned his head towards the defeated creature. "What's so funny, chuckles?" asked the spider. "Not bad, kid... But once I'm back on my feet, which I will be, I'll be back for you." Spider-Man stopped for a second, looking into the eyes of this deranged killer. "Yeah, well.. No rush." with that, Spider-Man made his exit quickly before police could arrive on the scene.

The so-called urban legend Jeff The Killer had been arrested, for years people assumed that he was just some myth, a fucked-up fairytale. Amongst these people, was Peter. This had been a wake-up call in more ways than one. He shuddered at the thought of... Just what else could be out there? He ran across rooftops in the dead of night, now he had one goal. See his Aunt May.

The door to a house in Queens opens, as Peter slides in. Wearing a blue hoodie and a pair of sweats. His eyes dart over to the clock in the kitchen stove... 3:04, he's early. When suddenly he hears a voice. "Peter?" he turns around to see May, sitting in the dining room table. They both just stare at each other, for what must've been minutes. After everything he's been through, Peter needed nothing more than to see the face of a loved one, just her voice alone was enough to instantly relax him. Whilst May just looked at the cuts and scrapes across Peter's face, she looked horrified but... Relieved to see her nephew back.

Wordlessly, she stands up and approaches him. Tears almost immediately well up in her eyes as they embrace. Holding each other in a loving hug, sharing their loss and mourning.

Together.

𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙏𝙃 𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙍

Peter Parker sits in his room, hunched over a desk. He was working on... Something. Scattered around the desk are papers, sketches of... Some sort of mechanical invention. Something that goes on the wrist. Alongside a utility belt, trackers, and a... Spider signal?

"Aaand.. That should do it."

Spider-Man leaps across rooftops, in the warm sunlight of the city around him. His skills have much improved, moving gracefully like a trained dancer. Until... he plunges off a building and rapidly speeds down onto the cars below him. But before he went splat, he pressed two fingers down, and a web shot from his wrist. Attaching to a nearby building, and swinging off of it. Shooting himself straight through the air. "WHOOO!!" he shouts, shooting another web which would allow him to turn a corner onto another street.

He'd swing around until he reached a house... Police surrounded it, yellow tape everywhere. What on earth could've happened here? He had to find out. Peter perched on a nearby streetlight, going undetected by two officers he'd eavesdrop on.

"Jesus Christ, you're kidding me!" a younger cop shouted, he looked absolutely disgusted. "Nope. The poor souls were all found butchered 'cept fer' the daughter. Miss Natalie Ouellette." an older, more grizzled cop would respond. Natalie?! Peter's heart practically skipped a beat, this was her family?! What could've happened?! "Do we know where she is?" the younger cop asked, which the older of the two shook his head. "We're thinkin' she ran from home before the murder..."

That was all Peter needed to hear.

After collecting info from some of her friends, he went searching for her later that night. A friend had mentioned she'd frequently visit this rooftop. She says it's the most cursed area of the city, dozens of people who have stood on this rooftop have been found mysteriously dead later. That intrigued her to a weird degree, one of her friends said.

Peter found the rooftop, and... Boy did it look cursed. He landed on it, and began searching. "Hello? Any... body here? Ideally not to kill me?" After searching for a while, he was about ready to give up on this lead and call it a bust... Perhaps there was somewhere else he could look-- when... he felt a buzzing in his head, as if the universe was attempting to warn him of something... But it was too late. Something smacked Peter in the back of the head, something strong. He immediately fell to the ground, out cold.

Natalie dropped a wooden plank. She wore a green fur coat, with a tank top underneath. One eye carved out of her skull, and grotesquely replaced with the face of a watch. "Nobody said you could invite yourself, y'know." she huffed in irritation. Her eye glanced across the costume, tilting her head a bit. "You're that fucker that's all over the news aren't you?" She kicked his leg, causing him to twitch slightly. She thought for a second... Leaning forward, she grabbed his legs and started dragging him.

𝙏𝙊 𝘽𝙀 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙐𝙀𝘿