𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝗺𝗮𝗻: 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 [ 𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙞 𝙖𝙪 ]

great .28

a few days later, ricky came into see tony. the boy was a wreck from being conflicted. one voice was telling him to kill richard the next chance he got, but the other voice was telling him it wasn't the right thing to do.

"what do you think is right, kid?" tony asked as he watched the boy pace back forth. ricky ran his fingers through his hair.

"i don't know..."

"well maybe this information can help," tony answered, getting up from his seat. ricky looked up from the floor as tony grabbed something from his drawer. the man brought out a steel box that had a needle inside.

"what is that?" ricky asked, coming closer to tony. he watched as tony held the needle with such delicacy. the boy was fascinated by the glowing green liquid that shined through the glass.

"a cure.. in simple words," tony stated, handing it to ricky.

"what do you mean?"

"it's gonna take away his powers," tony explained as he grabbed back from ricky, "and calm down his ... emotions... if you must."

"so he's gonna go back to being a normal human?" ricky asked, watching tony slide the metal box towards him. tony nodded his head.

"so there's that for you " tony said, raising his eyebrows at ricky, "hopefully that helps you make your decision."

"i don't wanna kill him," ricky answered. the boy fell down to the couch in frustration, "it's nini... she... i should do it for her.. it's what she wants."

"nini asked you to kill richard?" tony asked with confusion. the boy nodded his head. "that's a really big thing to ask someone... i mean i've been married to pepper for years and she's never once asked me to kill anyone for her."

"nini's scared."

"we're all scared, ricky," tony simply answered, making ricky's face fall. "just do what you think is right."

"i don't wanna disappoint her."

"well then maybe she's not the one for you, kid," tony answered. the boy only nodded his head and sighed.

"it really seemed like she was but you know ever since she got kidnapped... things have been different."

"i know, kid, but that doesn't mean you have to change your morals," tony told him, "you're still young. you're seventeen. don't start now."

"what do you mean?"

"just ... you know once you start killing.... you might not stop."

ricky's face fell. he nodded his head and faced the floor as tony's words lingered in his mind. tony grabbed his jacket and motioned for ricky to stand up.

"alright, let's get you home."

+

the boy was sitting on his bed staring across his bedroom. the metal box sat perfectly still on his desk — taunting him. ricky frowned and eventually turned away. he laid on his side, tucking himself in his covers.

as he was about to close his eyes, he heard a soft knock on his door. he turned around to see aunt may quietly walking in. she had a mug in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other.

"hey may," ricky softly spoke, sitting up in his bed, "gee thanks!"

she placed everything on the nightstand and sat on his bed. ricky relaxed as aunt may rubbed her thumb across ricky's cheek.

"hey baby, how are you doing?" she asked with a soft smile. ricky sighed and grabbed the hot chocolate off of his nightstand. he hugged the mug in his hands as it rested on his lap.

"im fine."

ricky took a sip and focused his eyes on the mug. aunt may sighed, "you gotta talk to me... i don't want anymore surprises."

the boy took in a deep breath, "i'm just kinda stuck..."

"with what?"

"how to ... stop all of this... you know?" ricky answered, "nini ... she's really scared. she wants me to go through with just ... killing richard... but mr. stark ... he gave me this thing — a cure. i'm just scared it's not gonna work..."

ricky looked up at aunt may. she looked disappointed and surprised at ricky's statement, "im surprised you're even contemplating the first idea."

"he's a really bad guy, may—"

"—yeah and you're not, ricky," aunt may quickly answered. she grabbed ricky's hand and continued, "listen... you have a gift... you have power... and with great power there must also come great responsibility."

ricky sucked in a breath. once again, he looked down at his lap while aunt may's words finalized his decision.

aunt may gave a ricky a soft kiss on the forehead before getting up, "i know you'll do what you think is best, ricky."

+

nini heard a soft knock on her window. she turned around and let out a sigh. the girl could feel her anxiety kicking in as she made her way to the window.

"neens! crazy seeing you here," richard greeted in a witty voice, hoping into her room. nini only rolled her eyes and closed the window behind her.

"can you be any louder? they'll hear you."

"probably," richard only answered. he walked towards her desk and examined all the papers and homework nini was working on. the boy nodded his head, "okay...studious girl! i knew taking you was the right choice."

he turned around to see nini rolling her eyes, yet again. richard arched an eyebrow and scoffed.

"you've been a good girl, right?" richard asked, stepping towards nini.

"the best girl you could ever ask for, yes," nini simply answered, pushing past richard. she sat back down with her back faced to him. richard chuckled under his breath.

he wrapped his arms behind nini, inching his face close to her ear, "i know you're not thinking of betraying me...because if i find out something — that won't make me very happy ... who's going to protect you?"

"i would never betray you," nini answered, facing richard. he beamed into a grin and nodded his head.

"good! now i only have to worry about killing your so-called spider boyfriend," richard stated with excitement. nini's heart sunk down to her chest but she tried her best to keep up a fake smile.

richard looked at nini with admiration, tucking her hair behind her ear. "and then... i'd just be you and me.... here in this innocent little world."

nini melted in a smile, "can't wait," she whispered before connecting her lips to richard's.