Am I (Not) a Hero?

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...

[Peter Parker's POV]

We found ourselves back on the rooftops, and I rubbed my sore arm.

It was foolish to expose myself; I should have dodged. I had been let down by the poor reflexes of my mind which wasn't used to my new abilities.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

She asked.

"Not really, it'll heal soon; we have enhanced regeneration, after all."

I said, cautiously looking over the edge of the rooftop to see the police packing the criminals into their cars.

"Hmm, but that was good."

"Definitely."

She nodded with satisfaction.

"Do you think people will start talking about us soon?"

"Hmm... I think we've already made it onto cameras while zooming around. In the age of smartphones, anyone can snap a photo at any moment."

I replied.

"Oh, back in our day…"

She mockingly continued in my voice.

"Why do you sound so old, Spider-Man?"

"So you can tease me more often, Silk."

I rolled my eyes, but no one could see it.

"What should we do next?"

"No idea. We could keep flying around the city looking for incidents. How do heroes usually do it?"

"Like you don't know. When trouble strikes, they put their underwear over their tights and fly to the call for help."

Cindy smirked at the obvious reference to Superman, slowly creeping up to me.

She quickly touched my shoulder.

"You're it!"

She then jumped.

I hesitated for a second but then took off after her.

"I thought I was too old for this crap."

Continuing this childish game, I concluded that it was better to patrol at night because various people don't rush out of their hideouts while the sun is still up.

When we got tired, we sat at the edge of the rooftop.

"I didn't think it would be this boring. Maybe we should have gone out at night?"

"Definitely."

Then I remembered a mechanic from a game.

"I could... well, for example, steal a radio from the police and tune our headsets to their frequency? I don't know if it would work, but then we'd know where to go and what to do."

I could develop something better, but that was the first thing that came to mind.

"Can you really do that?"

She asked with surprise.

"If it's even possible, I'll probably struggle with it for a few days, but I should figure something out. I have enough knowledge for that but time…"

"Cool. Now I see why you're a boy genius."

"God, just forget that stupid nickname, Silk."

I said.

While I could tolerate MJ's playful Tiger, this one just annoyed me.

"And besides, what should we call ourselves now that we're a team?"

"Hmm... That depends on whether we'll be a duo or a team with more members."

She pondered.

"Life can take different turns. We haven't even sorted out our third…"

I forced myself to stop speaking.

"I mean, we haven't figured out our third member."

"I think it's too early to think about that. Moreover, people will give our team a name on their own."

"Let's hope those people aren't the 'sharks of the pen' of J. Jonah Jameson."

I mumbled.

"God, I think I understand why you'd get along great with… the goth."

She hinted at Jessica.

"It's hard to find someone as pessimistic as you."

I ignored her words and touched my arm where I had been hit. It barely throbbed when I touched it.

"It may be time for us to pack it in. We can go out again at night?"

I suggested.

"Probably. But can we do one more round?"

She asked, clearly not wanting to return to the boring world of school kids.

"Well, it's up to you."

I walked past her and touched her shoulder.

"You're leading, by the way."

Afterward, I took off running.

This was actually fun.

We're sixteen; we can afford it for now. In college, we probably won't even have the desire to live between exams.

In any case, everything seemed surprisingly calm in the city. This was not what I expected from a comic filled with events.

However, we did everything we could. We explored the city as quickly as one can cross half of New York on the web.

In the end, all that was left was to return to the hangar, where we confirmed that we would go out on patrol again at night.

I'd go out first and shoot her a text to let her know.

As I was heading home, I thought about how... unreal it had been. I just didn't know what to compare it to.

If I don't put on a mask and go out to fight crime, I can't really understand.

After announcing my return, I went to the kitchen and brewed myself some coffee.

A new body, but old habits.

Nevertheless, I still wasn't physically tired, thanks to improved endurance.

Anyway, going without sleep for a day was usual for me especially when a deadline was breathing down your neck, ready to bite your behind.

After finishing this strange ritual, I returned to the lab. The simplest model of web shooters had already been sketched out.

All I had to do was find enough junk to build this almost primitive device.

A watch casing, springs, a lever, wire, and a few metal plates completed my work.

Click

Click

Without the web cartridges, the superhero gadget made a pretty simple and somewhat dull sound.

The device wasn't particularly bulky but only had four web cartridges.

How I created them is another story.

After changing into clothes I didn't mind ruining, I finished the second device.

It was a shame I had to dismantle my working watch for this, but it was cheap anyway—no big deal.

This is science in the Marvel world; sacrifices are permissible!

"What's with the drama? I didn't cut anyone open."

I ironically chuckled at myself as a guy who had crossed over.

After surviving another epic test with filling the cartridges, I thought I might need to break my brain and create a device to fill them for me, or maybe I should completely rethink the filling process.

Otherwise, this project wouldn't have been worth the effort, especially since I didn't need them yet.

"Gwen should also have natural webbing, right? Because if not, she's pretty dependent on me since I had the formula. One thing's for sure: I'm not sharing the web formula."

Finishing with the important tasks, I decided to mess around on the PC.

Fortunately, even though Peter was a nerd, he didn't have a level ninety-nine elves in the equivalent of WoW.

Otherwise, it would have hurt to leave him behind for superhero stuff.

Whenever I think about how many of my accounts are left in the old world… Well, I only regret the money spent.

I still had no one to play with, so I just went through the dull MMO storylines and messed around in PvP after work.

However, I'm here mainly to check the news in New York. There really were reports about two unknown mutants stopping a robbery on XX Street.

However, there wasn't much buzz about us.

Well, we can't compete with the Fantastic Four.

There were also a few posts about us on Reddit. Someone managed to snap a photo of the web-bound criminals and my superhero landing on the car.

The most popular comment came from a guy who mentioned our names. I didn't even know that office worker was on Reddit.

An accident involving a truck from Ajax Atomic Labs carrying nuclear chemical waste illegally was reported among all the trending and other nonsense, but it was quickly taken down.

'Ajax Atomic Labs… Aren't they the ones responsible for Daredevil's blindness?'

I thought of another random fact from fan fiction.

 Who did they run over this time if he's already a hero?

They might have made another superhero, but that storyline with Spider-Man hadn't crossed paths as far as I knew. 

Additionally, it didn't happen in New York.

"Speaking of which, I should Google Charles Xavier."

Unfortunately, he is here as a fighter for mutant rights and the headmaster of the School for Gifted Youngsters.

He is some kind of professor too, but I didn't finish reading his Wikipedia page.

The main thing is that the X-Men exist.

When?

I need to be ready for the Phoenix or maybe it'll just pass me by… I hope so. I spent the rest of my time on YouTube, trying to find music from my past world.

Well, there was some success.

The songs that came out after 2009-2010 simply weren't there. What a cruel world; I shouldn't have ended up here.

As I passed the time like this, night finally arrived.

How I missed mindlessly wasting hours of my life on the internet… but all good things must come to an end.

In response to my message, Cindy said she would head out a little later because she was finishing up her suit.

I peeked out the window to check if everything was quiet, but no lights were on anywhere, so I could allow myself to slip out unnoticed.

'Hmm, at night, the atmosphere is completely different. I feel more like a predator hunting for prey than a hero.'

Swinging through the city on my web, I kept an ear out for suspicious noises coming from alleyways and such.

However, all I could hear were cars, and it never stopped.

Suddenly, someone called for help.

I shot over there because usually when someone calls for help, I end up getting punched in the face.

The unfortunate victim turned out to be Ned Leeds, the chubby guy in the red cap whom I had covered for my meeting with Cindy today.

It's surprising how small the world is.

"This loser doesn't even have a penny. Knock him out, and let's go."

The thug threw out his empty wallet.

"Tskk, spit."

The second one scoffed, but I blocked his hand aimed at Ned's face with my web and pulled the thug toward me.

I hit his falling guy's face with my feet.

One down.

I simply covered the second one in webbing and stuck him to the wall. He was weak, very weak; nobody even hit me with a crowbar.

"Robbing someone older than a high schooler is beyond your skills? What a pathetic sight."

I didn't let the thug respond and simply shut his mouth with webbing.

Reaching out to Need, stunned and watching the whole thing with his mouth agape, I helped him to his feet.

"M-my mom told me not to hang out in internet cafes until late at night."

He stammered, nervously chuckling.

"Thanks for saving me. You're Spider-Man, right? I read all the news about you today."

He wiped the blood from his lip.

"Yes, that's me. No need to thank me."

I shrugged and shot a web into the corner of the roof.

"Wait! Where's your sidekick?"

He asked, already taking photos of the webbed-up criminals.

"She'll catch up later, I hope."

I replied with a shrug.

"Can I post this on Reddit? And Twitter?"

He asked, snapping a picture of me.

"If you don't mind? I can delete it!"

"Go ahead; the more criminals know about me, the more they will think twice before committing crimes."

I nodded.

"If I'm needed, shine a spider signal into the sky."

I saluted with my hand and pulled myself up onto the roof.

One good deed done.

The night was just getting started.

What else awaited me?

...

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