C23 Spider-Man (Patreon)
Content
“Hello.” Coulson greeted as he walked up to the one and only Spider-Man. “I’m agent Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.”
Showing his credentials with one hand and extending his other to shake hands, Coulson was surprised when Spider-Man swipes his badge and ignores his outstretched hand.
“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Wow, that’s a mouthful...” Peter mutters as he looks over Phil’s Shield ID.
“Yes, we’re told that often.” Coulson nods as he retracts his hand with an awkward smile.
“I’m sure you have. Why not abbreviate and call it Shield? It’s the first letter of each word after all.” Peter says as he hands Phil his badge back.
“We’ve thought of that but it has to be officially decided on.” Coulson says as he pockets his badge.
“Well, how can I help you, Coulson? I was just about to head home.” Peter asks.
“Truthfully, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division would like to have a relationship with you. We shouldn’t talk here as it’s a bit crowded and I have some terrorists to deal with.” Reaching into his pocket, Coulson pulls out a business card. “Can you call me and we’ll set up a more private meeting?”
“Alright.” Taking the card, Peter instantly memorizes the number and stuffs it back into Coulson's front suit pocket.
Peter didn’t trust Shield to not place a tracker in their business card. It’s something they would definitely do.
“Are you not interested?” Phil asks confusedly.
“Nah, I memorized it. I’ll call you tomorrow or something.” Peter says with a shrug.
He made a good choice too. Phil planned to do exactly what he thought. Though now the game plan has changed to tracking the call. Either way, Shield would do its best to find the real identity of Spider-Man.
“So, what do you know about these terrorists?” Peter asks.
“Nothing concrete yet, but we think they were hired by a business competitor. The building that was attacked is the headquarters of a weapons manufacturing company. Ever since Tony Stark went missing, the competition between weapons companies has been deadly. Everyone wants to be the next Stark Industries.” Coulson explains.
Usually, information like this would be held much more closely, but Shield is trying to make a good impression on Peter, so revealing some information wasn’t a problem.
“Do you know which group they’re from?” Peter asked.
“No, but we’ll find out soon enough. They’re probably some homegrown terrorist group since we got a hit on the woman. She has US citizenship, a job, a house, and even a family. The others are probably the same.” Phil explains further.
“Alright, we’ll talk soon. It was nice meeting you Coulson.” Peter says as he dashes off into the forest before Phil could reply.
Once he was far enough away and knew he wasn’t being watched or followed, Peter opened a portal and returned home.
As the portal closes behind him, Peter turns to see his Aunt May walk in with a basket full of laundry.
“Oh, sh*t...” Peter muttered as their eyes meet.
“Ahh!” May yells as she drops the basket and backs away into the kitchen, where she grabs a big knife. “What are you doing here?”
She’s a supporter of Spider-Man, but seeing the guy break into your apartment is a completely different story.
“May, it’s me. Calm down.” Peter says as he instantly switches back to his normal clothes.
“Peter?!” May exclaims.
“Yeah, uhh... Surprise?” Peter didn’t know what to say.
“How did you do that?” She points at Peter's clothes. “Are you Spider-Man?!”
Aunt May had a million questions to ask as Peter took the sharp object from her hand and placed it safely on the kitchen counter.
“This isn’t how I wanted you to find out...” Peter states as he scratches the back of his head awkwardly.
“Oh my god, you’re really him...” May mutters in shock and awe.
“Yeah, I’m Spider-Man,” Peter confirms.
Silence filled the room as May just stared at Peter with a surprised Pikachu face. After a few moments, realization bloomed as moments throughout the past month started making sense. Instances, where Peter would leave the house and Spider-Man, would appear somewhere saving people or stopping crime.
It all just lined up.
“How?” May asks out of nowhere.
“How what?” Peter wasn’t sure what she was asking.
“How do you swing across the city, have so much strength, run so fast, and everything else Spider-Man can do?” She clarifies.
“I got bit by a radioactive spider before school started this year.” He explains.
“Wait, that wasn’t food poisoning, was it?” May asks accusingly.
“No, that was a lie. I had no idea what was happening that morning. I woke up and couldn’t even remember who I was for a moment. That was the day I got my powers. I didn’t want to worry you so I lied. I’m sorry for keeping this from you.” Peter explains and apologizes.
“Wow, I raised Spider-Man...” May mutters as she walks over to the couch and takes a seat.
“Yeah, I guess you did.” Peter smiles as he sits beside her.
“What made you want to put on the costume and help people?” May asks curiously.
“It just seemed like the best thing to do. I had these powers and I knew that I could help. Also, I liked the idea of being a superhero.” Peter answers, but that’s only half the reason.
At first, that was the reason. He wanted to be Spider-Man. It was that simple and kind of like a childhood dream was coming true. To be the hero that saves the day and lives a fulfilling life behind the scenes.
The other half is because Peter knows the dangers that this world will face. The list of villains that he knows about is a little too long for Peter's liking.
Thanos, Ultron, Ego, Erik Killmonger, Loki, Ronan the Accuser, Vulture, Abomination, Mysterio, Whiplash, Hela, Aldrich Killian, Malekith, Dormammu, and the list goes on. Although some of these names may be less scary than figures like Dormammu or Thanos, that doesn’t mean they aren’t threats.
Peter received a big wake-up call on the day he met the Great Weaver. When before all he cared about was enjoying his life, now Peter’s taking these threats more seriously. Especially the threats he doesn’t know about. Although this has been very similar to the MCU he knows, Peter wasn’t 100% sure that everything would follow that script.
If Peter decided not to be Spider-Man, then who knows how the future would be affected.
“I’m so proud of you, Peter.” May says as she wraps Peter in her arms.
“You weren’t proud of me before?” Peter jokes as they separate.
“Of course I was.” She says swatting him on the chest. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I’m proud of everything you do.”
“Thanks, I thought you would be against me being out there fighting crime.” Peter sits back on the couch in relief.
“Oh, I’m certainly against it, but I won’t stop you. It’s not like I can stop you anyway. You’ve helped so many people that I would feel wrong for causing New York’s hero to disappear. Just keep yourself safe alright?” May says worriedly.
“Of course, I’m always safe.” Peter says but she just looks at him before grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.
As soon as it turns on, a video of Spider-Man being launched to the ground by an explosion was playing on the news. They both watched as he fell more than 70 floors down and smashed into Dopinder’s taxi cab.
“That is not safe.” May says as the video replays once again.
“Well, it was that or a lot of people blow up along with that guy. The building could’ve come down as well.” Peter says with a shrug.
“That doesn’t matter. Be more careful next time. Just because you’re stronger than others, doesn’t mean you can’t die.” May demands.
“Okay, I’ll try to be more careful.” Peter says with his hands up. “I promise.”
“Good, have you told Ned or MJ yet?” She asks as Peter shakes his head. “So I’m the first to know?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure when I would tell you or anyone else.” Peter nods.
“Well, you should tell them sooner rather than later. Especially MJ.” May gives her input.
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it.” Peter says noncommittally.
“Stop thinking and do it. How would you feel if she had this secret and didn’t tell you? You’ve probably lied to her while keeping it as well.” Aunt May gives her advice.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Peter nods.
“Look, all I’m saying is that if you’re serious about your relationship with her, then you need to tell MJ. The same with Ned as well. He’s been your best friend for a very long time. Secrets and lies can cause rifts in any relationship. Remember that.”
A/N: 1511 words. Starting the next chapter now. Sorry I took a bit. I got distracted by something.