Peter and Ben Parker slowed to a stop in front of the New York Public Library. Once the car was parked, Peter gathered his things and turned to his uncle.
"Thanks for the ride, Uncle Ben," he said.
"Now, wait a minute, Peter. We need to talk," Ben replied in a calm but steady tone.
"We can talk later," Peter said, gripping his backpack tightly. Inside the backpack was his new red and blue costume.
"Well, we can talk now, if you let me," Ben insisted as he turned off the car's radio.
"What do we have to talk about? Why now?" Peter asked.
"Because we haven't talked in so long. Your Aunt May, and I don't even know who you are anymore. You're neglecting your chores, you have all those strange experiments in your room, and you're starting fights at school."
"I didn't start that fight. I told you that!" Peter replied defensively.
"Well, you sure as hell finished it," Ben countered.
"What was I supposed to do, run away?"
"No, you're not supposed to run away, but... look, Pete, I know you're changing. I went through exactly the same thing at your age," Ben said, trying to connect with his nephew.
"No, not exactly," Peter replied, shaking his head.
"Peter, these are the years when a boy transforms into the man he's going to become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into. This guy, Paul Rabin, probably deserved what happened. But just because you can beat him up doesn't give you the right to do it. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility," Ben advised sagely.
"Are you afraid I'm going to turn into some kind of criminal? Quit worrying about me, okay? Something's different, and I'll figure it out. Stop lecturing me, please," Peter said.
"I don't mean to lecture, and I don't mean to preach. I know I'm not your father..."
"Then stop pretending to be!" Peter exclaimed in exasperation. As soon as the words left his mouth, a deep sense of regret washed over him, but he stubbornly held his ground.
"Right... I'll pick you up here at 10," Ben said quietly. Though he understood that Peter didn't truly mean it, the words still hurt.
Not wanting to linger in the tense atmosphere any longer, Peter stepped out of the car. As he watched his uncle drive away, he looked down at his bag and started walking toward the venue for his wrestling match that night.
••o••o••o••
"Just give me the car, old man!" Dennis Carradine yelled and raised his gun. "Now!"
"Listen, Son. You don't have to do this," Ben Parker said calmly. Not an ounce of fear could be seen on his face. "If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"Shut the fuck up, old man! Just give me the car!" Dennis hissed, his finger sliding over his gun's trigger. "That's all I want!"
"Why don't you just put down the gun and go home?" Ben asked slowly as he raised his hand to try and calm the frantic man. Dennis, sensing Ben's good intentions, began to calm down slowly.
"What the hell are you doing?! Get the car! We have to go!" Coming from down the dark street, a man carrying a large bag with dollar bills sticking out from its pockets yelled, his pistol in hand.
At the man's yell, Dennis's anxiety spiked, and he unconsciously pulled the trigger.
Ben closed his eyes out of reflex, but when he didn't feel any pain, he opened his eyes. Only to see a glowing sphere around Dennis's pistol. The bullet he had fired now sat spinning at the bottom of the sphere.
In a flash of reddish-pink light, two streams of solid light slammed into Dennis and his partner. They flew through the air and crashed against the side of a brick wall. The men groaned in pain as they held their injured bodies. The guns they had dropped transformed into sand.
Ben blinked in confusion and turned up to see Atomic land in front of him. "Are you okay, Sir?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. Thank you. You're that superhero my nephew likes to watch on TV. Atom Man, right?" Ben said.
"Pretty close. Atomic," Atomic said.
He walked over to the injured men and restrained them by placing handcuffs on their wrists and ankles. After he stood, Atomic peered down at Dennis—the man who would have killed Ben Parker in this universe.
Did I do the right thing? Saving Ben Parker? Atomic thought and turned to a perfectly fine Ben. Around them, a small crowd of people began to gather thanks to the sound of the gunfire and at the sight of Atomic's presence. No, I can't think like that. If I start to let people die on my watch just because that was their supposed destiny, then I can't call myself a hero. Fuck Peter's canon event. Hold on… is the Spider Society gonna come and try to kick my ass?
"Take good care of that nephew of yours, Mr. Parker," Atomic said and began to levitate in the air. "He's going to need you in the future."
Ben blinked in surprise, hearing his name from the hero in the air. As Atomic was about to fly off, he paused and turned to Ben.
"Thanks again for that advice you gave me back then. It helps to think about the good times I had with them. Now more than ever," Atomic said cryptically before flying away with Dennis and his partner in tow, leaving all those below confused and turning to Ben for an explanation.
Ben frowned, more confused than ever. He then began to think, and it suddenly clicked. A small smile grew on his face as he watched Atomic's trail of light due out in the night sky.
I see now... You're him, huh? Ben thought.
••o••o••o••
Peter Parker, or as he now called himself, while out as his alter ego, Spider-Man, swung from building to building using his high-tensile webbing across the skies of New York.
True to his name, Spider-Man wore a red and blue costume with black web markings throughout the red parts of his suit. On his chest and back were spider logos, and large white lenses served as his mask's eyes.
Typically, he would enjoy the thrill of swinging through the city. The sensation of traveling at high speeds and the pull of gravity as he dropped to the ground was unmatched. This was especially true now that he had conquered his fear of heights just a few days earlier.
However, that euphoric feeling was absent tonight. Instead, he was preoccupied with thoughts of what had happened to his uncle. More specifically, he was worried about what could have happened to the man who had raised him in place of his father.
"I don't mean to lecture, and I don't mean to preach. I know I'm not your father..."
"Then stop pretending to be!" Peter had snapped back at his uncle.
Spider-Man shook his head and landed on the side of the Empire State Building. The reason he was out so late was that he couldn't sit still after the events of the night. He had waited for his uncle and Aunt to fall asleep before sneaking out.
Using his spider-like stickiness, he began to scale the building. Once on the roof, he leaned over the edge and let out a shaky sigh.
"Such an idiot," Spider-Man muttered to himself.
Ever since he had gone on that field trip to Doctor Connor's laboratory at Empire State University and acquired his spectacular powers, Peter had felt on top of the world. He was now faster, stronger, and his senses were heightened. He was a completely different person from who he had been before. He had superpowers!
With this in mind, Peter no longer wanted to be the same pathetic nerd he had always been. To change that, he decided to take the first step toward becoming one of the cool kids by buying a shiny new car. However, he needed money. Money he could easily make by winning a wrestling competition he had seen advertised in the newspaper.
Winning the match was easy for him due to his abilities. But when the event organizer refused to pay him the full amount he had won on a technicality, Peter was furious. That was why he didn't intervene when the organizer was robbed moments after he left the room.
Peter never imagined that the same thief would be one of the men who almost took his uncle's life for his car.
His uncle had almost died.
And it would have been entirely his fault.
It was only thanks to Atomics' timely interference that Uncle Ben was still alive—a fact for which Peter would forever be grateful for.
"With great power… comes great responsibility," Spider-Man said, now fully understanding his uncle's words.
If he had done the right thing from the start, none of the events from that night would have happened, and his uncle's life would never have been in danger.
"Those are wise words. Words to live by,"
Spider-Man jumped to his feet at the voice in front of him. Usually, that wouldn't have been odd, but considering he was 1,400 feet in the sky, it was certainly unexpected. The spider-themed hero blinked as he saw Atomic hovering in front of him.
No way. It's him! Spider-Man thought, recognizing one of New York's heroes—the man who had saved his uncle.
"It's you," Spider-Man said, his mind too scattered to come up with a proper response. "Atomic."
"At your service," Atomic said as he landed on the edge of the building beside Spider-Man. "You have some impressive moves. I watched you swing through the city and climb this building as if it were nothing. Are you new to the scene, Mr...?"
"Pe—Spider-Man! I'm Spider-Man," he said, cursing inwardly.
"It's nice to meet you, Spider-Man. So, what's your deal? Just got your powers and are out for a stroll?"
"Something like that…"
Atomic hummed and sat down on the ledge, with Spider-Man joining him. They remained silent, looking out at the grand city before them. Spider-Man wanted to thank Atomic for what he had done, but he worried he might confuse him for saying something so random. Still, he had to say it.
"Listen, I—"
"You know, Spider-Man," Atomic said abruptly, "I've been flying all over the city, helping those I can. But sometimes, I don't always make it in time. There are moments when I have to rush people to the hospital. Luckily, no one has died on my watch. At least, not yet."
Atomic thought back to the man who had been crushed to death during a battle in Harlem.
If he had acted sooner and not hesitated, would that man still be alive?
Stop it. Worrying about what-ifs will only lead me to a downward spiral. Atomic thought.
"What I'm trying to say is that if you're thinking about becoming a hero, I'd have peace of mind knowing that you're out there to help when I can't," Atomic said, placing a hand on Spider-Man's shoulder. "But just because you have powers, it doesn't mean you have to be a hero. If you choose a peaceful path, that's okay too. Although I haven't been doing this for too long, from what I've learned, it's a challenging job. Sacrifices will be made. I just wanted you to be aware of that."
Atomic wasn't trying to scare Spider-Man away from becoming a hero. Spider-Man had been one of his favorite heroes in his other life, but seeing the young, costumed teenager in person made Atomic want to give Peter Parker an out.
If his biological scan was anything to be believed, which nine times out of ten it was, this Peter was still only 15 years old. He knew that if Peter chose this life, it would bring harsh and dangerous challenges. As it did with any variation of the Webhead.
Though Wyatt still appeared youthful, his other life gave him experiences that had given him a deeper depth of understanding that far surpassed Peter's own. He had lived a life of peace and fun until he was in his early-twenties, and his mind was better prepared and ready to tackle the formidable challenges that came with heroism. Still, he wasn't perfect. He had his own issues he had to work on, but he was aware of them.
"That's…" Spider-Man muttered.
"You don't have to decide what you want to do right now. Just think about it before you swing into action," Atomic said. In the distance, sirens could be heard, drawing their attention. Atomic patted Spider-Man on the shoulder and stood up. "Duty calls, Spider-Man."
Stepping off the ledge, Atomic entered a free fall before shooting off at incredible speeds into the city, leaving Spider-Man behind.
The arachnid hero watched Atomic disappear and then looked down at his hands.
He had some serious thinking to do.