The early morning sun bathed me as I swung through the streets, thinking about everything. It’d been a day since the Sandman fight and I’d been out patrolling around the city yesterday and I’d decided to start early today. It was better than sitting at home all day thinking about things. I glanced down, checking the streets. Things were calm. I went back to swinging, focusing on my thoughts. The past week had really been something. From the funeral, crying with MJ, talking with Harry, telling Sasha about Gwen, the meet-up with my friends, to talking with Aunt May about everything on top of my recent fight with Sandman. It felt like so much had happened.

It felt weird, feeling so at peace with everything. Or maybe I wasn’t at peace and I was still just ignoring things till they blew up in my face. Still, knowing only a few days ago the weight of everything had been a crushing pressure and comparing it to how I felt now; it was like night and day. I still wasn’t over my doubt of everything, hell I still I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this; Swinging around was nerve wracking enough, let alone stopping criminals and supervillains. I still got the shakes thinking back to my fights with Sandman. But at the very least, I was trying. That’s the best I could do.

I came to a stop on a building and paused, breathing heavily as my body trembled with adrenaline. Swinging really didn’t get any easier. I sat down and looked out over the skyline. The view was beautiful. I wish I could’ve shared this with someone. Seeing everything from this high up felt like it put things into perspective. It made my problems feel smaller.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. It was Harry.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

“I got it approved” he said with a hearty laugh.

“Got what approved?”

“The Stacy relief fund” he said.. I froze an indescribable sensation washing over me.

”Pete? You okay?” Harry said.

“Yeah. I- that’s great. That’s amazing man” I said, a smile break across my face.

“Hey, it was your idea. We might even be able to expand it later, someone on my team said it might be a good idea to look into funding community projects, or ”

“That sounds great. But I mean isn’t that a lot. How much money does the fund have?”

“No need to worry about that. Dad really got behind the idea. We’re starting off at four billion dollars.”

“I- wow. Holy shit”

“Yeah, I think that’s what I said too” Harry chuckled. “Anyway, I’ve got to go. I just thought I’d tell you before we announce it publicly.”

“Ok. Yeah…” I said, trailing off.

“See you later man. Oh, and thanks for giving Ned my number.”

“No problem. See you later Harry” I said.

Harry hung up and I let my phone fall to my side still in disbelief. This was amazing wasn’t it. I mean we’d just mentioned it once in a conversation and now there was a fund with four billion dollars and Gwen’s name on the front. I leant back, staring up at the clouds. For the first time in a while, looking at them didn’t make me feel sad.

I heard a shout from below, interrupting my thoughts. I twisted my body, looking down as people, stood still, or moved out the way of someone sprinting. They were wearing a mask and held a bag. An older guy shouted, after them, giving chase, but the mugger was getting away. I spun around, and swung back towards the commotion.

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Suddenly a man tackled the mugger, taking him to the ground. They wrestled over the bag when the mugger let go and reached for his waistband. Time seemed to slow down as he pulled out a gun, the man’s eyes widening as it was levelled with his face.

“No!” I shouted, as I fired a web. A gunshot echoed through the street accompanied by a flash. I felt my spider-sense buzz and instinctively I jerked my head to the side, feeling a bullet graze the side of my face. I caught the gun I’d jerked away from the mugger, crushed it and landed on the wall above the commotion. I webbed the crook down as he tried to scramble to his feet and then jumped down, landing next to the man.

I offered a hand.

“You okay?” I asked. He looked at me shocked for a moment and then nodded. A kid came out of nowhere and latched onto the man, pulling him into a tight hug. The man hugged the kid back, holding him tightly, before standing up.

“You saved me. And my nephew. Thank you” he said. I glanced between the two of them taken aback for a second and then, glanced at the mugger.

“I-“

“My bag! Thank God!” a guy said, barrelling past me as he scooped his bag up off the floor. He spun around to me, his eyes wet.

“Thank you so much Mr superhero!” he said, grinning wildly. The people around us started applauding and pulling out their phones to record us.

I glanced down at the kid, who still clutched his uncle tightly. Before I realised it, I was kneeling down in front of him.

“Y-you alright?” I asked. He nodded. He was probably still a but shaken. “Good. Make sure to take care of your Uncle for me” I said. He nodded again, with more vigour this time.

I stood up and prepared to swing away when the Uncle stopped me.

“Thank you… I… what should I call you?” he said.

“Spider-Man. It’s Spider-Man” I responded.

“Thank you Spider-Man. Seriously, you saved my life” he said. I felt a surge of emotion flood through me, and I took a step back.

“It’s no problem” I said, flashing a thumbs up before leaping off the ground and swinging away.

I swung for a bit, steadily gaining altitude as the heat of the sun warmed me. I came to a stop and landed on a building, crawling up to the edge, my heart beating hard in my chest. I flipped up and landed on the roof, then turned to look behind me glancing at the street below. The uncle smiled, his nephew propped up on his shoulders as the kid waved at me. I waved back and then leapt off the building, swinging away.

I didn’t know what I was feeling right now, but it was good. No, it was better than good, it was amazing. I’d saved someone. An uncle who’d been about to get shot right in front of his nephew. I’d stopped years of grief, and trauma with a single action. I’d stopped someone from experiencing the same heartbreak I had. I landed on the edge of a building, coming to a stop. I pulled off my mask, breathing heavily as tears glistened in my eyes.

I stared out over the city, the skyline bathed in a golden glow. I marvelled at the sight, taking in Manhattan’s awe-inspiring beauty. I watched as people went about their day, a woman dancing as she listened to music, a couple laughing as they held hands, and a man tying a little boy’s shoes.

I felt a wave of memories wash over, remembering all of Uncle Ben’s words. ‘You’re special Peter. You’ll do amazing things, probably change the world. But you have to be careful and kind. When you do your great science things, you have to help people. With great power, comes great responsibility. Never forget that.’

I looked down at the faded symbol spider on my chest, feeling it’s weight. Even if the news was villainising Spider-man, I’d seen people who were thankful for him. I’d seen how grateful a nephew was that his Uncle had been saved. I’d done that. And I could do more. Spider-Man could be more. I could be the city’s hope. It didn’t matter if I was a hero or not, the people needed one. I stared off at into the sunset before looking down at the street below me.

If I was going to do this, I needed to do it properly. I’d train to fight, learn emergency care, and build a relationship with law enforcement. I’d try to befriend people, use all my skills to help take down villains. I needed to make the device that could help take down Sandman. He’d said he’d gotten his powers in the explosion. If my theory was right and he manipulated the sand using an internalised negative energy, then an inhibitor collar that limited the flow of it could neutralise him. Yeah, this was good. I could do this. I’d do everything Lucas had and more. Careful and Kind.

I looked over myself. I’d get a proper costume too. It felt kind of disrespectful, wearing Lucas’ costume. I’d give this one back to him, after I fixed it and I’d make my own. I could use Gwen and Ben’s favourite colours. Red and blue. Yeah, that sounded good. I sniffled, wiped my eyes and lightly slapped the sides of my face. I took a deep breath and stood up, stumbling slightly. I adjusted my web shooters then, slowly, I pulled my mask back on. I looked out over the city again, listening closely as sirens blared off in the distance. I smiled and with a running start, leapt off the side of the building.