Chapter 16 - Training his nephew (Part 2)

Hello, dear readers! Here's Chapter 16 a lot earlier than I expected!

I'm really proud of myself because it's been a month now since I succeeded in releasing, and thus writing, at least three chapters/week between this novel and my original. So, if everything goes well, you might get another chapter this week of this novel. We'll see how it goes.

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Enjoy the read! :)

If you wish to read a similar type of novel, I'm writing an original novel in my own created universe: The Knight's Multiverse.

A quick sum-up here: Damian Knight was a guy who did not like the way his life was going (his job being the worst part of it), until a call from his mother made him decide to turn his life around. Unfortunately, as Damian almost reached his apartment, he witnessed his neighbor and her daughter being held at gun point by a maniac. He thus fought the man and even killed him accidentally. However, he also got shot in the stomach, making him bleed to death. After his death, he met a powerful entity granting him three perks before he was sent to reincarnate. When he regained consciousness, he noticed that he actually had been reincarnated for 18 years, but only now did he regain his memories while his perks were also finally activated. Having a new name, a new family and some powerful perks, what choice will he make?

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Queens, NYC, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

Maybe it was because of his smile or the unconscious laugh that escaped the man at the thought of his childhood shenanigans, but those deadly but captivating eyes suddenly turned toward him. "Honey, do you think it's funny?" Freezing for a brief moment, Ben suddenly smiled at her and replied with confidence.

"Of course not, Belle. I was just thinking about other things." Before she continued, he added. "By the way, since there's not enough room for Pete to train here, I'll bring him to his bedroom. That way, I'll make him clean it up. If you're fine with that?" A smile that seemed to mirror his appeared on her face before a few chuckles escaped her, followed by a few words.

"Fine. You're both off the hook. But you, Mr. Parker, better make sure to keep your room clean or it won't end with a simple scolding. Am I clear?" Nodding vigorously, Peter exclaimed. "Cristal, Captain May!" The following flawed salute made the two adults laugh before Ben stood up from the sofa and signaled him to follow. "Alright, soldier. Follow me." 

"Yes! Coming." Peter said while following behind him. It did not take long for the two to arrive in the boy's room. As the raven-haired man took in the view of the place, with some Captain America and Iron Man posters stuck on the wall, a double-sized bed, an average-sized desk with a common desktop computer, and a nice-looking wardrobe. 

All the furniture was the color of wood, as it was a color scheme that was liked by the whole family. Although they were mostly fake wood instead of the real deal, it was much better than the usual black that modern furniture makers liked to use. In any case, the room looked comfortable to live in. Or at least it was supposed to.

Cocking his eyebrow at the current state of a normally perfectly fine bedroom, Ben turned his head toward Peter and said. "No wonder your Aunt was mad at you. I don't even understand how it's possible to end up with such a mess..." With a sheepish look, the boy replied. "I don't know... It just happened..."

Shaking his head at the absurd statement, he retorted. "I'll stay in the corridor while you clean it. Once you're done, I'll let you know what you'll need to do." Nodding his head with a look that screamed reluctance, Peter lifted his left foot in the room's direction when his body turned stilled at his Uncle's next words, making his shoulders drop in desperation.

"And don't make a pile and put it under your bed or in your wardrobe. Otherwise, I'll help your Aunt punish you." Sighing in perplexity, Ben muttered. "How is it even possible to have used underwear, three mismatched socks, and a few random books in a pile on his desk? And that's the most 'orderly' place in his bedroom... Kids are a mystery..."

'Forget it! Let's just train my perception for now.' He inwardly decided. After briefly glancing at his nephew to make sure that he was not slacking, he sat down on the ground and closed his eyes. Focusing on his ability, he kept trying to increase its range and its efficiency.

After a while, Ben heard the noise that Peter's feet made as they hit the floor, the latter creating vibrations that traveled through both the air and the ground. What amazed the man was how incredible his sense of touch had become, enabling him to detect all of it, while his brain could broadly calculate the distance and speed at which the boy was walking toward him.

However, what felt even more incredible to him was when Peter extended his hand to touch his shoulder, he could actually 'see' the hand as it fell on his body. And all of that without having to use his eyes. 'What an incredible power.' He thought in awe, before opening his eyes and saying to the boy.

"Ready?" Retracting his hand, he then nodded as he questioned. "So what am I supposed to do, Uncle?" Standing up from the floor, the muscular man replied. "First you need to put on appropriate clothes. Your pajamas won't cut it. Put on a pair of shorts instead and a comfortable shirt. Don't put on one too big or it will hinder your movements."

Following his instructions, his nephew quickly changed his clothes, finding some random casual clothes inside his wardrobe that seemed to fit what he needed. Once ready, he went back to Ben, staying silent while waiting for the rest. "They seem fine." He nodded before adding. "We'll keep the training simple since you've never really worked out before." 

Pausing for a second to ponder, he then continued. "You'll do push-ups, squats, and then planks." Following those words, he proceeded to demonstrate the exact posture the boy needed to have for each exercise, before letting him do it on his own. Only when Ben was satisfied did he stop monitoring him and briefed him on the number and order of series the kid needed to do for each exercise.

Knowing full well that the latter would not be able to follow an intense session for his first time, Benjamin simply planned for a light one that focused more on making his muscles get used to those 'unknown' exercises. He was not expecting any result anyway.

Feeling satisfied, he then sat back on the floor, a bit away from Peter, and went back to his own training with his eyes closed, the only noise in the room being the painful grunts coming from the struggling boy.

After some time, the boy fell silent, as he was clearly incapable of continuing and thus stopped working out. Despite trying to be discreet, Ben could hear the sound of the kid's computer turning on, drawing a small smile on the man's face before his face turned back to indifference, with his focus being on grinding his power.

After a few hours, the silent man's practice was interrupted by a call from his wife. "Guys! It's lunchtime. Come down." Opening his silver eyes, Ben felt the remnant of a migraine disappear as his weak healing factor did its job. Pushing on his legs lightly, his body instantly stood up, as if gravity was nonexistent. 

Stretching his body lightly to relieve the tension accumulated from staying seated on the floor without moving, he thought, pleasantly surprised. 'Even without training physically, I can feel my control over my body improving quickly. It's definitely thanks to my new perception. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to notice how flawed my strength distribution was. Fortunately, my power-up was relatively mild this time, or there might have been some... accidents.' 

Instead of focusing on the what-ifs, he briefly glanced at one of the two rings he was wearing, a family heirloom he received after Richard lost his life in that suspicious accident. 'Once I'm strong enough, I'll find out the truth behind that...' Of course, the reason why he was suddenly interested in an item that he had been wearing for a long time was because of his new perception.

'There seem to be some blurry shapes carved on it... I never noticed them before...' Scratching his beard in deep thought, his ponderings were interrupted by his nephew's reminder. "Uncle Ben? I think we should go down, or we'll both be in trouble with Aunt May."

The serious look on the boy's face drew a small chuckle from the man before a question left his lips, making his puzzlement apparent. "Are you that scared of your Aunt?" Nodding his head with the same solemn intensity, Peter replied. "Of course. I'd rather fight those aliens than have Aunt May mad at me."

Cocking his eyebrow, the raven-haired man retorted with a shake of his head. "I'm sure you're overreacting. Your Aunt is a very mild-tempered woman." As if to deny his words, May's voice resounded again, this time louder than previously. "Are you coming down or what?" "Coming, Love." Ben replied in a loud voice before narrowing his gray-colored eyes at his nephew's 'I told you so' look.

"I don't like that smug face, little brat." He added, before grabbing the boy and holding him like a sack of potatoes, but on his side instead of on his shoulder. While walking toward the living room, Ben declared. "Let's go eat, Mr. Smarty Pants." "Let me go, Uncle!" "Don't want to!" "Please! I won't tell the tru... I mean I won't say anything about Aunty anymore!"

Chuckling at the boy's slip-up, he felt a bit playful, and thus could not help teasing the boy a bit. "I think I should tell you Aunt what you just said. I'm sure she'd be delighted to know what you think about her." Peter's next words clearly reflected his mounting panic. "NO! You can't tell Aunty, Uncle!"

As the two arrived downstairs, May's voice sounded from the kitchen. "What are you two talking about?" Putting down the kid, Ben looked with some schadenfreude at the horrified look on his face. Peter then mouthed "Please, don't." A childish feeling of satisfaction then surfaced in the man's heart at his success in messing around with his beloved So... Nephew. His beloved nephew.

'It's been so long since I've truly played with him... I was really blind to not appreciate how lucky I was in the past... Thank God I woke up.' He thought with some warmth. Tousling the kid's hair, he said out loud. "Peter told me that he thought you were an amazing Aunt."

Looking surprised at the unexpected assist from his Uncle after all the previous teasing, the boy's tense face visibly relaxed, before a smile crept up his face. However, the next words from his Aunt made him embarrassed, with his face turning bright red. 

"Aww! You're so adorable my little bunny! You're also the most amazing nephew!" "Aunty!! I told you to stop calling me that!" He retorted, mortified. Despite his protest, however, May hugged him tightly and replied, with a big smile on her face. "Sure, my little bunny."

Ben's lips twitched at the nickname. Especially since her face completely betrayed her, making it obvious that she was doing it on purpose. 'She's even worse than me, isn't she?' He thought with conflicting emotions. Nonetheless, the fact that Peter hugged her back despite being so flustered showed that the kid did not hate the situation as much as he seemed to have claimed previously.

The sight drew some old memories from his subconscious of a simpler time. A time when his only problems were school dramas and homework... When his parents were still alive. 'I miss all of them...' He thought, his mood turning a bit melancholic. 'It's how life works, I guess. I can only accept what has already happened and do my best to avoid history repeating.' As a new thought came to him, his smile turned confident. 'Death? With my new powers, why do I need to fear it? I simply need to get more powerful and my precious family and I will be fine.'

His ponderings were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, prompting him to ask his wife. "We're waiting for someone?" Letting go of Peter, May retorted, with her gaze toward him making it clear what she thought. "I invited Mady and the girls to eat with us. Since the meeting is at 2 p.m., I thought it'd make everything simpler."

Nodding at her thoughtfulness, the raven-haired man smiled gratefully and replied. "You're right. I don't know what I'd do without you, Belle." Crossing her arms, she turned her face to the side, her lips twitching from the effort it took to not let it turn into a happy smile. "I know you're just trying to make me feel bet..."

Her voice was however cut off as her powerful lover used his newfound speed to give her a peck on her lips, making her freeze for a second. "I love you, Belle." Once those words left his lips, with his face wearing a loving smile, Ben started walking toward the door, missing the red hue that started to spread on her cheeks.

Nonetheless, the discreet mutters from Peter drew a small chuckle from him. "It's karma Aunty..." Fortunately, May's thoughts were disturbed, and thus, she did not hear those words, helping the boy to avoid further troubles.

On Ben's side, the man quickly reached the door. His left hand on its handle, he turned and pulled it toward himself, unveiling the woman and two little girls behind it. "Hey, girls. Come in!" ""Hello, Uncle Ben!"" The two little girls exclaimed adorably while their mother simply said with a meaningful smile. "Hey, Ben."

Letting them inside, the man shook his head with a wry smile adorning his face. 'What a mess...'