- Black Tarantula - Male Reader x Marvel

Chapter 65: It Was A Good Day

(AN: There's been something I've been going back and forth on for a little bit, and that's the actual decade this story takes place in. I've kept it ambiguous and since it isn't necessarily essential to the plot, so it just hasn't been mentioned as of yet. Marvel's sliding-timescale just updates comic canon to whatever recent events are going on at the current time of writing. There is obviously modern technology, so that would suggest it is at least post-2000, however, the tone and speech is a lot older, especially since I'm borrowing from the original comics. The compromise that I've come to is that this story takes place in the early-, to late-90s, but technology as a whole is more advanced in general. It makes sense given there are super geniuses like Tony Stark and Reed Richards about that tech would be further ahead. That also puts it more inline with some of the earlier Marvel films, like Raimi Spider-Man. Is it super integral to the plot? Not necessarily, but it sets the tone...)

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[TWO WEEKS LATER]

[Early May, Lower Manhattan]

The afternoon sun threw a golden hue over the only half-reconstructed Baxter Building, its rays piercing through the exposed steel beams and scaffolding. The once magnificent structure which had been built in the middle of the twenty, the height of American prosperity and innovation, was now once more a work in progress. Its skeletal frame stood against the backdrop of a city slowly healing from the devastating attack only two weeks prior.

Time moved on, as it always would do, and people's minds were starting to shift away from grief and back towards a more average, uneventful existence, but the scars still remained fresh, etched into the very skyline of New York. Could life ever return back to the way it had once been after humanity had been exposed to such powerful beings hiding amongst them, with only a minor fuse needed to cause major calamity and major casualties? There was no good answer, but everyone had to deal with such looming threats in their own ways...

Yet, one thing hadn't changed, and that was the sight of a brightly-coloured vigilante in red and blue swinging about Manhattan's remaining skyscrapers with a practised ease, the wind tousling his suit. Spider-Man neared what was left of the Baxter Building, his feet landing lightly upon the dense network of scaffolding.

He crouched, surveying the work below. Construction crews moved like ants in long, labouring lines, working to restore what had been lost. The foundations already appeared solid, and the lower floors had largely been rebuilt, yet, as Peter's eyes drifted upwards it became clear that there was much work to be done. The tower's upper levels were still an open framework of steel and wires crudely set in place...

Not just the Baxter Building, but the entirety of Manhattan, was undergoing a rebirth of sorts.

The clashing of hammers and saws was met with scorching welding torches, intermingling with the distant hum of traffic, and the murmur of voices. It seemed the city was more alive than ever, not even the threat of annihilation could keep New Yorkers couped up in their homes, scared. The city was rebuilding, and recovering, slowly but steadily. It was a process that would take time, and Spider-Man couldn't help but feel that same burning emotion within.

However, there was something more, a new responsibility thrust upon his shoulders. Spider-Man had always challenged low-level crime, and the few costumed psychos that showed up every now and then, but not two-hundred foot monsters and deities from the ocean depths.

The world was rapidly changing, and Peter couldn't help but find himself torn between two words...

Down below the stealthy spider, the Fantastic Four were hard at work in aiding the rebuilding process, but also directing the construction crews to ensure a Baxter Building that would fulfil their every need. Their powers helped move the process along quickly. Johnny Storm sat atop the scaffolding with little concern for the immense height. His hand alight with a controlled burst of fire that lit up the entire site. He carefully welded support beams together.