An Old Woman

Jihn whistled, "finally, something exciting!"

People were already running away from the scene until you noticed that another debris is coming right up to your ass, "Oh shit!" you rolled away at the impact, almost brushing with death.

"Hahaha! You can do this, Little Anthony!" with a newfound trust in your reflexes, "that was a close one!" he was still laughing.

"Why don't you do it?" you grunted.

With a comical laugh, the clown replied, "This is your exercise, ami!"

You looked up and saw Scarlet Spider fighting some unknown enemy. Well, that was fast, from a barista to a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in a minute. You sometimes wonder how they change their clothes so quick.

The guy he's fighting is at least a B-list villain...

It seems like spidey's still a bit inexperienced, seeing how big the collateral damage is. And the only thing you can do right now is to get the fuck away from here.... but you still wanted to watch the show.

You hid behind a bench and utilized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a close up match between a fictional superhero and a villain, "I wish I had some fucking popcorn."

"I know, right?" Jihn replied.

"Ahhhhh!" a scream was just heard near you, inside the dark alleyway.

Seriously?

"What fucking timing!" Jihn complained.

You ran towards the alleyway and saw a burglar dragging an old woman down, forcing her to cough up some money. This guy has no shame at all, taking advantage of the situation outside and mugging a poor elderly. Why don't you get a fucking job?

Since he's distracted, you sneakily ran behind him. That guy has a knife close to the old woman's throat, but not close enough to cause an accident. You swiftly grabbed his right arm and twisted it back, "What the—" then, you kicked the back of his knees, causing him to fall down, "guh!"

You gripped his hair and smashed his head at the cement, rendering him from his movements, "Lady, are you alright?"

The old lady silently wept, "Thank you.. young man... thank you so much.." your heart warmed at this unfamiliar gratitude you've never received before.

"Softie," Jihn mumbled.

"Let me get you to safety, just turn around for a bit," the old woman nodded and did what you asked.

You inserted force on your grip and broke the burglar's right arm, "Ahhhhh!!!"

"Maybe this will teach you a lesson," you chuckled and let go of his pitiful broken arm. You snatched the knife that was dropped at the ground and ran towards the old lady, "Let's go."

You saw the fight was still ongoing outside, just a bit further away from last time, "Aw, man! We missed the action, mon ami!" the clown grunted.

"Yeah.. yeah.. next time."

You held the old lady close to you and hastily ran outside the vicinity of the fight.

There's something inside you that's burning and it's a good feeling. You felt free from your past, even just for a second.

It was liberating.

The old lady turned to you, "Thank you so much.. may I know your name?"

"....Anthony. Anthony Jihn."

The clown was silent, it was the first time you ever said his name. Funny thing is, it was also your secondary name.

The old woman beamed, "What a lovely name, fitting for a hero like you."

"Oh no, lady I'm no..." your throat went dry as if the next word can physically hurt you, "hero."

"Nonsense! To me, you're already one," she chuckled, "as long as someone believes in you, miracles can happen."

She then bid her goodbyes, now that she's safe. And at the last minute, she said her name was, "Mary Wright."

You stood there for a long time...

Unbeknownst to you, a familiar face was watching this scene unfold. Due to heightened senses of being a Spider-Man, he noticed you from the beginning. He couldn't shout at you to get out, putting you at the risk of getting the villain's attention.

It was a very helpless feeling, being so weak.

After seeing a powerless person like you help someone in need, he felt something stir inside him.

The determination to be better and to finally free himself from the shackles of being a clone.

It's a painful pill that's yet to be swallowed. The reality that's he's not the real Peter Parker, and there's absolutely nothing out there that can change that fact.

Because he's not Parker.

Not the Spider-Man.

Not the Original.

But Ben Reilly, and he proudly calls himself the 'Scarlet Spider.'

He thanked Anthony in his heart and flung away using his web slinger.

Subsequently, police arrived at the scene, with the villain already apprehended and imprisoned inside a cocoon.

Meanwhile...

On the other side of the street, a run-down motel flickered lightly. There's a man walking solemnly towards his room. He lit up a cigarette and puffed a smoke, tossing it in the bin after the stick lost its embers.

Anthony felt a different kind of emotion, he didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing but for the first time, he felt that a dam just broke inside of him.

He slumped down to the wall and cried... and cried for hours.

It was the first time he cried in 15 years.