Peter leaned back in the chair he'd been made to sit in with his hands behind his head and a cocky smile on his face. His Uncle Ben had just finished listening to the principal's explanation of what had occurred out on the basketball courts and upon hearing the story he turned to look at Peter with a furious expression.

"Is that what you're doing now Peter?" Ben asked with his arms folded.

"What're you talking about?" Peter asked, checking his nails, rubbing the nail of his middle finger with his thumb to try and smooth the jagged nail.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about boy!" Ben exclaimed furiously, slamming his fist down onto the principal's desk, making the principal jump and Peter's eyes widen in shock. He had made his uncle mad at some points in his life, he'd angered almost everyone he'd met to be honest. But this wasn't just him angry, Ben was furious at Peter for what he'd done. Peter sat up straight and lowered his arms to his lap as he looked at his uncle.

"Uncle Ben, there's no reason for you to be so upset..." Peter said slowly. Ben turned away from Peter and placed a hand to his forehead for a brief moment before turning around and gesturing towards Peter.

"There's a good reason Peter" Ben rebutted "And that reason is that you're becoming something I tried my best to avoid"

"Really?" Peter asked "What's that?"

"You're growing Peter, you're getting stronger as you grow, that's a given" Ben said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and sighing "But just because you're going through a change likes this doesn't entitle you to become so self righteous"

"Self-righteous?" Peter asked in a disgusted tone "I was defending myself!"

"Don't give me that crap Peter" Ben scowled "You weren't provoked by anyone, you found an opportunity to get your revenge and you took it"

"Hey, don't make me sound like some stupid kid Uncle Ben" Peter snapped.

"But that's just it Peter" Ben said, pointing at Peter "You are just a stupid kid, a stupid kid who's gotten so wrapped up in his own comic book revenge plot that he's not thinking about anyone else except himself"

"I don't need to listen to this" Peter growled, pushing himself out of his chair and storming out of the office.

"Peter!" Ben yelled after his nephew, turning around to the principal and talking to them "I'll go get him" Ben quickly followed after Peter who had gone over to his locker and was spinning the combination into the lock of the thin metal door.

"Peter!" Ben called out to him, getting the attention of the other students walking in the hallway.

"Leave me alone Ben" Peter growled, attempting to finish the combination only to miss the last digit and have to start the process again.

"You're not running away from this" Ben said, walking down the hallway towards Peter "You have to act like a man and face up to what you did"

"I just tried manning up Ben, and look where it got me" Peter growled, messing up the second digit this time, grinding his teeth in anger.

"That wasn't manning up Peter, that was more childish than anything" Ben spoke quietly "A real man in that situation would be able to turn the other cheek"

"You know what? I'm sick of hearing that" Peter said, getting progressively louder and louder until he was practically shouting, getting the attention of more people and causing them to crowd around to watch the argument "All my life I've been told to forgive and forget, start from square one, live and learn... but for once in my life I don't have to take their shit any more and I'm not going to!"

"And then what Peter?" Ben asked in an angry tone "You beat the hell out of anyone who says anything wrong... hell, anyone who looks at you wrong and everyone gets scared of you, what do you then?"

"I live my life the way I want to for once!" Peter yelled, losing his temper with the locker as he messed up the combination for a third time. He cocked back his fist and punched the locker door hard enough to knock it from its hinges and deep into the locker itself with a loud metallic slamming noise.

"And how do you wanna live Peter?" Ben demanded, grabbing hold of his nephew's shoulder and turning him around to look at him "As some angry and lonely monster with nobody who cares about him!?"

"I... it's just that I'm sick of being pushed around by everyone... and now that I can finally push back I wanna make sure nobody ever wants to mess around with me again" Peter hissed, anger blazing in his eyes.

"So that's what this is about Peter?" Ben asked "You've gotten power hungry from your growth spurt?" Peter didn't answer, but instead noticed the purple streak of hair followed by a familiar pair of sunglasses move to the front of the crowd as Twilight and Harry arrived.

"Your father used to have a policy when it came to a man in power Peter" Ben snapped "He always used to say that if someone has the ability to make a good choice then they had the moral obligation to do that good" Ben looked at Peter's angry, but confused, eyes and sighed once more before simplifying the quote.

"With great power, comes great responsibility" Ben finished "Your father lived by that code and never strayed from that path" Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets, his eyes beginning to mist at the mention of his father.

"Then where is he?" Peter demanded, his cheeks going red as his voice began to shake.

"What!?" Ben exclaimed "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Where is he Ben?" Peter demanded, holding his arms out to the sides and shouting loudly in a croaky voice "If he believed in always doing the morally right thing then why isn't he here to tell me, his own son, himself?!"

"Peter, stop being so pathetic already" Ben hissed "You know damn well why your father left and I thought you'd gotten past it already" Peter glared furiously at the ground as a single tear rolled down his cheek before turning around and shoving his way through the crowd that had gathered and sprinting off down the hallway and going into the stairwell.

"Peter!" Ben yelled, taking off after Peter quickly, leaving the others to discuss, sympathise or mock Peter and his plights.

Peter had settled under a breaker box on the underside of the Manhattan train rails and had began to listen to his headphones, allowing his anger to seep out of him slowly as Eminem's Recovery album blared loudly into his eardrums. He held a sandwich in his right hand which he munched on every few minutes as he drummed his foot on the bolted metal, feeling the vibration of the train speeding above him. He reached into his backpack and brought out a bag of diet coke only to find that bottle was just about empty and wasn't enough to quench his thirst.

"Fuck's sake" Peter growled, digging through his bag to see if there was another bottle only to come up empty "Alright, plan B" Peter rummaged around in his backpack's pockets and zips to scrounge together enough money for another drink from a corner store he remembered seeing just a few blocks away, after his escape from school and evading his Uncle Ben. He turned off his music and jumped down from underneath the railway and began to make his way through the city, stopping briefly as a headline in a newspaper caught his eye.

"Drunken Tony Stark crashes iron Man armour into air force test drones" Peter muttered to himself "Wow, what a tool" With a few minutes of walking at a brisk pace Peter found the store and upon entering he was greeted by a very distasteful look from the cashier. Peter walked past him and into the refrigerated aisle. To his dismay he saw that there was a lack of anything in the fridge. The only thing that was left that he would want was a brand he hadn't seen around much but knew that it was one of the biggest energy drinks in England, a brand called Rockstar. He picked the can up with the tip of his finger and flicked it up into the air, catching it in the air with a swipe of his hand. With a proud smirk Peter turned around and walked back down to the cashier where he placed the can on the counter and took out the money he scraped together and placed it on the counter. He looked up at the cashier with an expectant look only to have the cashier glare at him.

"And the rest kid" he snapped.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked "There's a dollar fifty right there"

"The can costs three bucks" he corrected.

"What!?" Peter exclaimed "That's ridiculous, I know this brand ain't that big around here but you can get this stuff for a quid in England, so there's no reason it should cost three times as much!"

"Two reasons kid, one: This ain't England and two: This is my store and I can charge whatever I want for it" he snarled. It was at this point that a man with blonde hair and dark sunglasses walked into the store, looking around as if searching for something before standing in line behind Peter.

"So that'll be four dollars" the cashier said smugly.

"You just said it was three!" Peter snapped angrily.

"I know, and now it's four" he remarked.

"Look pal, I've had a really shitty day today and I need the energy from this drink" Peter sighed, trying to speak more humbly "So could you just do me a favour this once and let it slide?"

"Sorry kid, I missed the part where that's my problem" the cashier sneered "Now, get out of my store if you're not going to buy anything" Peter glared at the cashier furiously before swiping his money off the counter and stuffing it back into his pocket. He stormed out to the doorway just in time to hear a cluttering sound. He turned around to see that the man behind him had swept several items off the counter.

"Really buddy?" the cashier asked angrily, bending down to pick them up again. The man then reached over to the counter and took all of the money out of the register and stuffed it into his pockets. He looked up just in time to see Peter staring at him with a blank expression. The man then picked up the drink and threw it over to Peter with a nod and in response Peter pushed the door open and held it for him, nodding at him with a thank you. The man rushed out of the store and Peter followed slowly afterwards, only to hear the cashier scream for Peter to stop him. Peter ignored the cashier and walked off into the street, where the cashier ran out of the store and began screaming for someone to stop the thief.

"What the hell's the matter with you kid!?" the cashier roared "You let him get away!"

"Sorry" Peter said, using his leftover coke to wash the lid of the can before cracking it open "I missed the part where that's my problem" The cashier growled angrily as Peter turned and began to walk away but Peter froze in place as he heard a familiar yell.

"Hey!" the voice shouted "Stop right there!" Peter whirled around just in time to see his Uncle Ben trying to wrestle a gun away from the thief. Peter froze in place for a brief moment, as the world seemed to slow down when the muzzle of the gun lit up and a loud bang sounded. Peter's eyes locked onto his Uncle's face as he grimaced in pain, grabbing his gut as he was thrown to the floor. Peter threw the drink to the ground as he sprinted across the street, ignoring traffic and pedestrians, skidding the last few yards over to his Uncle as people began to realize what was going on.

"Uncle Ben!?" Peter exclaimed, his body beginning to feel numb.

"P-Peter..." Ben mumbled "Did... did you s-see him?"

"Y-Yeah, I was in the store when he-" Peter muttered, beginning to tear up.

"A-And you didn't... stop him?" Ben asked, his voice beginning to fail him as the blood began to pool around his body. There was a brief look on Ben's face that lasted until he became limp, the last look Peter would ever receive from his Uncle and the look he would remember forever was burned into his brain: Disappointment. He could've stopped the robber, he could've done it easily with his superpowers. And because he didn't... this happened. Peter's mind flashed back to several hours earlier, to the argument he had with his Uncle and what he had said to him.

"With great power" Peter muttered under his breath, standing up straight after closing his Uncle Ben's eyes "Comes great responsibility"

Peter stormed through the streets, looking high and low for the man who had murdered his Uncle, his heart beating with pain and fury and his mind imprinted with nothing but the idea of revenge.

"I'm gonna kill him for this" Peter repeated to himself over and over, psyching himself up for the act he was about to commit. He ran down an alley and came out in front of a small video game store in which he saw his reflection. His mind flashed back to every superhero comic he'd ever read before and even every crime drama.

"I need a mask" Peter snarled "Nobody needs to see my face" He took two more steps forward and looked into the store window, seeing his ticket to a disguise. In the store window was the Watch Dogs Vigilante Edition which, to his great knowledge, contained the hat and ski mask of Aiden Pearce from the game.

"Bingo" Peter said, putting his fist through the window and grabbing hold of the box. When the alarm set off he looked around briefly, and upon seeing how surprisingly empty, he bent his legs and leapt as high as he could before climbing up the rest of the way with his adhesive powers. He sat down on top of the roof and tore open the package, seeing the hat and mask wrapped up in plastic. He took the game out of the package and stared at it for a brief second before scoffing loudly.

"Piece of shit game" he growled, throwing it over his shoulder. He opened the plastic bags and pulled out the hat and mask. He pulled the mask over his head and then pulled it up to cover his mouth and nose before slicking back his hair and putting the hat on, low over his eyes. He stood up straight and cracked his knuckles and neck, tucking the bottom of the mask into his black Ramones shirt and unzipping his black jacket, wearing the perfect clothes for a night-time revenge mission. He looked over the edge of the building and out over the city, hearing screaming from an alley a few blocks away, very faint but still just audible. Peter looked at the distance he had to traverse and groaned loudly. he knew that jumping was going to tire him out and it would take longer. he thought back to the Batman comics where the dark knight would either glide with his cape or would use kind of grappling device to traverse the city..

"Maybe I need something like that" Peter murmured "But something... spidery" With a quick run up he threw himself off the top of the building and down to a lower one, sprinting across the rooftops until he came closer and closer to the location where the scream came from. His ears picked up another muffled scream and he sprang forward leaping into the alley from an adjacent building and crawling along the while quietly.

"Listen to me you little bitch!" he heard a man yell "If you just hand over your purse we can get this over with and be done, just gimme that purse and necklace of yours girl!"

"H-Help... someone!" the young woman screamed. She pulled away from the man for a brief second only to have him pistol whip her around the back of the head. She fell to the ground with a pained scream and the man cocked the gun again.

"I didn't wanna have to do this" he snarled "But I've got no problem in adding another kill to my roster tonight" Peter leapt down to the dark alley and began to walk towards the man, kicking over a trash can as he did so to get his attention. The man whirled around and pointed the gun at Peter, smirking at his get-up.

"Get out of here buddy, this mugging belongs to me" he sniggered, pointing with the gun "Just leave me to shoot this bitch and we can pretend this never happened" Peter balled his fists in fury, enraged by this man's nonchalant attitude towards the murder of innocents.

"Leave her alone-" Peter snarled, his voice slightly muffled by the mask he wore.

"Or what?" the man mocked.

"I'm not finished yet, leave her alone so I don't have to damage her when I tear your fucking throat out" Peter hissed.

"Ooh, we got a big man here haven't we?" the man asked cockily "I think you're forgetting that I've got the gun here, a gun beats a mask any day, punk"

"We'll see" Peter said quietly.

"I'm warning you man, you take one fucking step closer and I'll smear your's and then this bitch's brains all over this alley" he threatened. Peter slowly bent his legs, tensing his muscles to be ready to spring into action. The move he made was so quick that the man barely had the time to register it. Peter stepped forward and kicked the man's gun out of his hand and high into the air, back flipping briefly and catching the gun before hit the ground. Peter then held the gun out at the man, his chest heaving in morbid excitement. The man looked at him with an astonished expression before he put his hands up in surrender.

"Get on the ground" Peter hissed and when the man didn't move he stepped forward and punched him in the face, knocking him straight to the floor "Do what I fucking say!" Peter then turned to the girl and offered her his hand. She looked reluctant for a brief moment but Peter tried to coerce her.

"Trust me, I'm not going to hurt you" he said in a gentle tone "Just get out of here and call the police... actually, forget that, call the coroners" The young woman nodded and took Peter's hand, gently helping her up to her feet before she looked at him.

"T-Thank you" she mumbled.

"No problem" Peter winked, feeling slightly better about what he was about to do now that he'd helped somebody out in the process "Now get out of here" The young woman nodded and ran out of the alley, grabbing her phone out of her purse as she did so. Once she was gone Peter watched for a brief second before his sixth sense began screaming at him. He turned around and dropped into a low crouch as the man swung a large iron pipe at him with a loud yell. Peter dodged the second swing with ease and caught the third one on his arm before head butting the man hard enough to break his nose. Peter grabbed the pipe and slammed it into the side of the man's face, cracking his skull open and smearing the weapon with blood. He threw it to the side and pushed the man up against the wall of the alley, placing the gun to his forehead.

"P-Please" the man begged, beginning to tear up "Don't kill me"

"Why shouldn't I?" Peter asked, stamping on the man's leg and shattering his knee joint. The man screamed in agony before Peter pushed his head back against the wall with the barrel of the gun.

"Answer me!" Peter screamed.

"I got a wife... I got a kid I need to look after man" he sobbed, tears mixing with the blood on his face.

"And you think he didn't!?" Peter roared.

"W-What?" the man asked in confusion. Peter pulled the mask down off his face and stared hard at the man on the floor.

"That man you shot was Ben Parker... that was my Uncle Ben... and now I have to go home and explain to his wife why he's not coming home again-" Peter said, his voice cracking briefly.

"I'm sorry man-" the broken thief whimpered.

"That's not gonna make this any better, you being sorry isn't going to fix this!" Peter yelled, punching him again "That man was everything to me! He was a father to me when I never had one... and you took that all away with one pull of a trigger" Peter lowered the gun and turned around briefly, taking a few paces before looking over his shoulder.

"An eye for an eye... that's fair I suppose" Peter sighed.

"Y-You mean... because I hurt y-you... and now that you've hurt me we're ev-v-en?" he asked, hope blossoming in his eyes.

"No, I now have to grow up without a father-" Peter said, turning around and pointing the gun back at the man "So let's see how well your kid does without theirs"

"No!" the man screamed loudly before Peter pulled the trigger. The crack of the gun seemed louder this time, closer to home and closer to his heart. Peter didn't take his eyes off the man as the bullet flew through his skull, splattering his blood and brains all over the back of the wall. As Peter's eyes looked down at the gun his power trip faded quickly, only to be replaced by a sickening guilt.

"I... what the fuck did I just do?" he demanded of himself. He'd attacked, beaten and murdered a man in cold blood. In the name of what? Closure? Justice? No, Peter had murdered a man in the name of revenge, to make himself feel better. This was his way at fighting back at the unfair nature of fate. And his rebellion had just made him a murderer. There was a bullet buried in the alley wall, a dead body with a hole in its head and a gun with Peter's fingerprints on it. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to cry and he wanted to scream. But instead he knew what he needed to do. It was when he heard the police sirens that he knew what he needed to do. The gun in his hand now had an appointment with the bottom of the Hudson River within the next hour. And Peter now had an appointment with the guilt he had to face, he had to live with the fact that he'd murdered a man.

"B-Best... start now then" Peter said, completely in shock about this whole situation. Peter pulled the mask back up around his face and leapt high into the air before crawling up a wall and disappearing from the location just as the screaming sirens of the police arrived just outside the alley. Next Chapter: City of Lights Estimated time remaining: 16 Hours