A Dream Realized - Part 2
The blond saw inflamed skin just below Peter's neckline. At its center were two small marks that were slightly raised. Telltale signs of a spider bite.
"How the hell does that even happen? Where did it come from?" Flash questioned intensely.
"That Carnage monster," Peter went on. "I actually ran into him before you did. He almost killed me before Iron Man came in and stopped him. I guess Carnage stole some test subjects from a lab or something earlier. One of them escaped and wound up biting me."
"Well, where is it now?" Flash asked.
"Dead," Peter replied. "Iron Man kinda... stepped on it when he left." The last part was a lie, but Peter didn't wanna make any further connection to the hero.
"So now you have, what? Spider powers?" Flash raised his eyebrows incredulously. "You definitely shot a web at that red bastard earlier."
"I guess..?" Peter rubbed the bandage, "But I don't know how it all works. I mean, you saw what happened, it pretty much ripped my wrist open!"
"Can both your wrists shoot webs?" Asked Flash curiously looking at the other wrist.
"I'm not gonna to try it now!" Peter held his arm back protectively. One injury was enough for the day.
"Look, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I've got a Quirk now," he went on. "I've had this power for like, less than a day, and I have no idea what else it'll do to me!"
He was clearly a bit shaken by everything that had transpired that day. Flash noticed this, and exhaled after a moment.
"6 months," the blond finally said.
"Huh?" Peter looked up.
"The M.A. Entrance Exam is in 6 months," Flash elaborated. "Obviously I'm gonna pass it, no problem. I still don't think you have what it takes. But if you're serious about being a hero, then prove it. You've got 6 months to get your Quirk under control."
Peter's eyes widened, was this a challenge? Or some kind of encouragement?
"But I'm warning you now," he went on. "Get in my way, and you'll get squashed like the bug you really are." The boy hocked a loogie off to the side and walked off. "Later, Wall-Crawler..."
Ok, definitely more of a threat than encouragement, Peter thought. But I'm not even supposed to have this Quirk. What do I do now?
"Well, seems the gauntlet's been thrown down," said a voice. Peter whirled around, and Tony Stark stepped out from behind a corner, wearing his civilian clothes and drinking a milkshake. "Weirdest 'thank you' I've ever heard, but whatever."
The boy was taken aback by the hero's sudden appearance, "Iron Ma-, I-I mean, Mr. Stark!"
"Kid, just call me Tony," said the hero, raising his hand to calm the boy.
"Um, sorry," Peter said. "It's just, earlier with Carnage, I couldn't-"
"I get it, you did what ya had to do," Tony replied. "At least you kept me out of that story to your friend. Mostly..."
"He's... not really my friend," Peter muttered, lowering his head. "So, what happens now? You wanted to get rid of this Quirk, right?"
"What're you kidding?" Tony waved his arms around. "People saw you using powers out there, no way to put that genie back in the bottle now." He lowered his glasses slightly to look into the boy's eyes. "Besides, I'm kinda thinking now you were meant to have them."
Peter raised his head slightly, "R-Really?"
"I'm gonna be real with you for a second, and it doesn't happen often so listen up," the hero went on. "I wanted to thank you. If you hadn't told me about your life, if you hadn't run into that fight, I would've just been a useless onlooker in the crowd. So, thank you."
"Oh no! It was my fault he was there to begin with…" The boy said, a bit embarrassed "It was me who hindered your hard work, I wasted your energy, not to mention your time and-"
"Hey, hey!" Mr. Stark says interrupting him. "I'm not done, calm down! You said you had no Quirk, then suddenly you get one that you know nothing about. But still, you ran into danger in order to save a life, and that inspired me."
Peter stopped and faced the hero in front of him, paying attention to everything he said.
"There's stories about heroes, how all the truly great ones became extraordinary," the hero went on. "And they all had one thing in common: their bodies moved before they had a chance to think, as if acting on their own…"
The boy's eyes widened, remembering the events from earlier. It was the first time that someone described him with the characteristics of a hero.
"And that's exactly what happened to you today…" Tony paused a moment, and he said the words nobody but Peter's Uncle had ever told him.
"Kid, you can become a hero."
- How about that? Dreams really do come true... -
"Your Quirk resulted from an experiment of mine. So for now, you're my responsibility," said Tony, placing his hands on Peter's shoulders, looking him in the eye. "Plus I already told those two shmucks back there you're my new intern anyhow. But you proved yourself worthy of being a hero, and you're the perfect person to inherit my power."
The boy looked into his hero's eyes, completely grateful for everything, for this chance, this opportunity. He wouldn't let him down, and he would prove himself worthy. "I'll do my best!" The boy said determinedly.
"Okay, that's what I wanted to hear," Tony replied, smiling. "But first thing's first: we've gotta figure what exactly that spider did to you. Still got my card?"
Peter felt around in his pocket, bringing it out.
"Good!" Tony lightly hit the boy on the shoulder and began to walk away. "Swing by that address at 8am and we'll get started. So go home and get some rest." And he left the same way he came, tossing his empty cup in a trash bin as Peter looked on.
- But I would soon discover, training to become a hero on the same level as Iron Man, would be easier said than done... -