There was darkness. Pure black. So dark, even, that Spider-Man had thought he and the girl were floating in a bleak space with no stars- which wasn't possible. He was on Earth. He was in Queens. He was protecting a little girl before the building fell on them-

Spider-Man didn't know what to do. Karen's helpful insight would come too late for him to follow through. Instead, he braced himself by lowering himself to his knees and embraced the girl. Spider-Man hugged the girl as her guardian and exposed his back to the crumbling building.

They both squeezed their eyes shut to await their fate. Peter twitched and shuttered, not quite believing that this was it. This was how he was going to go. People would say he died a hero, protecting a little girl, dressed as him. People would unmask Spider-Man and reveal Peter Parker. People would wonder how could a high school student such as he risk his life for strangers.

What they didn't know is that Spider-Man would die weak and defenseless. He wasn't strong enough to save one person, much less be a guardian to Queens.

May would live on in the devastation that yet another family member was ripped from her.

Tony would have lost a protégé who had the potential to be so much more.

Ned would have lost his best friend and would isolate himself to cope.

Flash would have tossed and turned, his stomach churning and twisting, and he would blame himself since he has relentlessly tortured Peter.

His teachers and other peers would have lost someone that they see every day. Another face that passes by, someone that they could have known if they had tried hard enough...

And Michelle... what would you have lost?

Spider-Man waited. He waited for something to come- death to come, whatever death feels like. Would it be a sweet release or a painful torture? Would there be nothing or another world that he couldn't possibly imagine?

Yet nothing came.

Like a serpent, a black figure slithered from the cracks of the street. It was in a bubbly, semi-gaseous state, clumping together only to pull itself apart as it rose in the air. It drew together as if it was the center of its own gravitational pull to shape itself into a person.

The young man, from a crouch, lifted his palms to the air and emitted the same black energy from which he had formed from. The black smokey energy exploded around them, foaming around the perimeter of himself, Spider-Man and the girl.

The girl whimpered in Spider-Man's arms and he tried to soothe her by rubbing her back, but he wasn't looking at her. His head was trained up to watch as the building that was just seconds from crushing the two of them. Instead, the building hit the protective force field that the young man had made. Spider-Man stared at the young man controlling this madness in disbelief.

The young man dropped his head and groaned in agony. "Move dammit!" he yelled at presumably Spider-Man. Spider-Man didn't need to be told twice.

Picking up the girl in his arms, Spider-Man made a mad dash for light. He just made it clear of the building and spun around, unsure as to how the young man would get out himself. Spider-Man let the little girl down and he attempted to rush back in when the black force field popped like a bubble. The building smashed into the ground, the impact collected a cloud of dust that blew Spider-Man. He tumbled and rolled, but came up sliding on his feet and with his hand against the ground to slow his slide.

"No!" Spider-Man yelled.

Somehow, this was worse than him dying. So much worse. At least he thought that he would die saving everyone that he could, but he had willingly let this powered young man take his place. Spider-Man wasn't supposed to do that. He was the hero! He was supposed to die. No one was supposed to die on his watch.

Then, he saw the thick black smoke again. It worked like the longest bubble ever blown. Its shape constantly thinning and widening with no clear definition. It formed once again to be the young man in front of Spider-Man.

He wore a black suit. It wasn't as tight and conforming to his figure like Spider-Man's was, but it was a cushioned and padded with a contrasting green trimming. When he lifted his head, Spider-Man saw that he wore half of a mask. It covered his face up until the bridge of his nose, leaving his eyes and his forehead visible. It glowed as a green skull of the lower half of the face. He was blonde with long hair flipped over to the side.

"Who... who the hell are you?" Spider-Man asked.

"Spider-Man," the young man sighed his alias, ignoring the question. He stretched his arms across his body. "Fan of your work."

Spider-Man blushed. "I-I um- thanks? I didn't know that I had fans..."

Police sirens sounded, prompting Spider-Man and the other masked hero to lift their heads to the air. The blonde man slowly edged to the remnants of the crumbled building. "I'll catch you later," he gave Spider-Man a wink before his figure faded to black and dispersed amongst the shadows.

Spider-Man stood there, his legs heavy. "Karen," he said, "do you have any idea of who that was?"

"No, Peter. I have no collection of data of him."

The sirens became louder, snapping Spider-Man out of his haze. He pulled himself using webbing to the rooftops and ran off.

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Peter, sticking to the wall, knocked on the outside of Ned's window. His best friend's body was on top of his bed with heaps of blankets wrapped all around him. He shuffled and threw off the blankets when he heard Peter's knocks. Ned trudged over to the window to unlock it for Peter to enter.

Peter climbed through and jumped down to the ground with a soft thud. He still wore his Spider-Man costume, but now he pulled off his mask again. Looking at his friend, Peter knew that Ned wasn't that well. His face was flushed red yet completely drained with tired, droopy eyes. Not to mention how Ned sniffled to keep his nose from running. Nevertheless, Peter still asked, "Hey man, are you feeling better?"

"Shitty," replied Ned. "I'm feeling shitty." Ned peered around Peter, expecting something. "Did you forget to bring me candy?"

Peter patted his sides. "Aw shoot. Michelle had my candy stash... I'll ask for it tomorrow or at school Monday and we'll split."

Ned nodded. "Okay. So about that..." He sank into his bed and wrapped the sheets to cover his body but sat straight. "...how did that turn out?"

Where should Peter even begin? The fact that she showed up at his house announced or their awkward elevator ride together? The car ride alone made him anxious with her rules. But the party? What had he tried to do? Why did he try to do that to her? Man, he had no idea.

Maybe, he thought, I just miss Liz. He hadn't spoken to her since her and her mother moved to Oregon- across the country. She hadn't been exactly happy with Peter when she left. Peter thought that he should give her some space, but how long would that be?

Peter decided to just skim over the details. It all meant nothing. He probably was right: he had missed Liz. Michelle was just there. "It was cool, but I had to go because there was another terrorist bombing in town."

"Dude, did you hear about the first one at the mall? What the police said on the news today?"

"Um... no?"

Ned cleared his scratchy throat. "So that guy who blew himself up was a Neo-Nazi. They caught his face on a video tape so they were able to ID the guy. He never committed any crimes, but on his phone, the police found multiple texts from an unknown number about their plans. Turns out our Nazi was just a test-run."

Peter narrowed his eyes. He folded his arms across his chest and stood taller. "What about their plans?"

Ned took a deep breath. "That there's going to be more and that they aren't the only ones attacking."

Peter thought back to what Karen said about the building that was bombed. He remembered seeing the mortified and brutalized faces of the people he had helped save from the wreckage. "Yeah... I think you're right, Ned." Peter moved to sit beside him. He hunched over to press his palms on top of his kneecaps. "The bombing tonight was at this apartment complex and most of its residents are Muslim."

Ned's mouth slowly fell. He coughed a few times before he was able to speak. "So-so you're saying that... these are connected. Oh my god, they have to be connected, man! Like the texts said: 'There's going to be more and they aren't the only ones attacking!'"

Peter's stomach coiled. He felt as though an anaconda had wrapped itself all around him and sneezed him so hard to break his entire body. "How am I supposed to stop terrorist attacks? I don't know when they might happen or where or who they are even attacking."

"Hey man, we'll figure this out." Ned patted Peter's back. "I'm your guy in the chair."

"Well," Peter turned his head to face Ned, "right now, you're my guy who's sick. Sorry, I woke you up. Go back to sleep, I'll text you tomorrow."

Ned's eyes fluttered closed as he tried to remain awake. He gave up and waved his hand to shoo away Peter. They said their goodbyes and Ned laid back down on his bed while Peter climbed out of the window into the night once more.

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When he got home, he entered through the window of his bedroom. Once he landed on the ground, he realized that Shoot! I forgot to text Aunt May! Peter quickly changed into a loose fitting shirt and sweatpants. He peeked his head outside his doorframe. "Hello? Aunt May?"

Peter crept outside of his room. He trod lightly on the floorboards, despite each of them creaking underneath his feet. "Aunt May?" he called out again.

She somehow always lived on the couch. He guessed it made sense since she was a writer on the side, but still. May was passed out on the couch, half of her upper body off the edge and her mouth completely open in a snore. She wore her writing glasses and her hand rested on her stomach. Papers were on top of the table in front of her with her student's tests and besides that was May's laptop with it opened to her writing.

Peter closed the laptop and straightened the papers. He placed a pillow under her head and kissed her forehead goodnight. Just when he turned back around to head to his room for a little late night gaming, Peter heard the toilet flush.

Someone... was here?! Who the hell could it be?!

Peter jumped behind the wall next to the bathroom. He pressed his ear against the door and heard whistling from the other side. His mind started to race and he knew he was going delusional. It had to be an intruder, here to harm May.

Peter twisted open the doorknob and barged inside with a yell, ready to attack. In front of him, there was a man in a suit. The man jerked in surprise and rushed to zip up his pants.

Peter's stomach dropped and he diverted his eyes. "M-Mr. Stark?!"

"Peter! God dammit!" Tony shouted, glancing over his shoulder. He fixed his composure and washed his hands. "Have you ever heard of the decency that is knocking?"

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Stark-"

"Peter?" May groggily rose from the couch. "What the... when did you get back? Why are you watching Tony-"

"Please, Aunt May, don't finish that sentence and it is not what it looks like!"

Now, Peter found himself sitting between May and Tony on the couch. He made himself incredibly small and kept to himself. Tony reclined back with his arm lazily draped over the back of the couch while May sipped on hot tea. It was quiet.

"So..." Peter started. "Mr. Stark, I hope I don't sound rude but... why are you here so late? On Halloween?"

Tony sighed. "Surprised your aunt."

May added, "But I didn't want to go out so we stayed here."

"And I was just about to leave since May fell asleep before you-"

"Oh." Peter blinked. "Okay. I think... I am going to go to bed."

"Yeah," May said.

Peter picked himself up and made his way towards his bedroom. He paused at the door when he heard them whisper. Peter peered into the living room once more to see Tony and May talking to each other. He watched as Tony leaned over and placed a kiss on May's cheek. Tony stood up and Peter prepared himself to bolt into his bedroom, but May tugged on Tony's sleeve, pulling him down to kiss her firmly on the lips.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You have no idea how much you've helped me. Peter's just... and he's Spider-Man and I-"

"May," Tony said softly, "I'll be here."

"And I'm so sorry about everything that happened... Tony..."

"It's okay. You're helping me too."

Peter pulled away. He shut his bedroom door behind him. So much is changing so fast and Peter wasn't sure what to do about it.