Spider-Man: The Greatest Spider-Man

Radiating Defeat!

It took Will 3 hours to get to Peter's home, his injuries causing severe agony from the radiation burns. His suit was in tatters, his skin was burning, his body ached......and he felt truly defeated in this moment, especially as he explained the situation to the retired superhero. "And that's everything......that guy was insane. I know we've fought some really tough bad guys before....but I could barely touch this one without it being a massive mistake to put it lightly."

Peter sighs as he guides Will to the bathroom. "Here.....take off the suit and leave it out here. I'll clean it and repair it." He ordered Will gently, closing the door behind him. "There's three knobs in the shower. You're gonna turn the one that says chemical clean."

Will's eyebrow raised as he sees this, trying to understand what he was seeing. Of course it'd make sense that this shower could be a shower that works as both a normal shower and a safety shower for chemicals.....but.... how did he do this without people getting suspicious? "Okay first off.....how did you do this? Second, why do you have this ready?" He asked as he got undressed, opening the door slightly to hand Peter his damaged Spider-Man suit.

Peter sighs softly, taking the suit. "I called in a favor from Tony, and he helped me out with installing it. As for why.....well just in case I got into something like this for before I got to being your guy in the chair." He explained simply before walking away. "I'll be back as soon as you're done. Your clothes will be hanging on the door."

As Will steps into this shower, of course this burned like hell..... but nothing hurt worse than how badly he was defeated by that supervillain......while he felt like he barely did anything....on the other hand, the shower combined with his own healing factor was helping that pain go away....any burnt tissue was being fixed a little faster, his aching was slowly going away a little bit at a time, and he felt a little bit more refreshed.....but he still couldn't help but think about that defeat.... 'How am I supposed to beat this guy......? My suit couldn't handle him properly........and he was so strong anyway.....' He thinks to himself.

Once he steps out of the shower, grabs his clothes and gets dressed, Will steps out of the bathroom, his hair still a little wet. "Thanks for the help Mr. Parker......I mean with getting my civilian clothes and stuff......now if only you could beat this bad guy for me......." He said with a defeated tone, trying to not feel his immense anger toward the defeat.

The retired superhero puts his hand on his protege's shoulder gently, looking him straight in the eyes. He knew the look in Will's eyes. A look that said why was he doing all of this? Why was the one putting on that costume, risking his life to defeat villains? It was the same look he himself gave every day before he retired the mantle of Spider-Man. "Don't ever forget why you are Spider-Man. Why you always get back up after every battle.....why you never give up." He tells him gently. "This city needs Spider-Man......it may not seem like it right now, and it may seem hopeless. But you'll find a way to defeat this guy.....you always do. But for now, take the rest of the day and tomorrow off. You deserve that." He offers him with a gentle smile.

Will nods, slinging his backpack over his shoulder before walking out. "Thanks Mr. Parker.......I just got a lot to think about now......" He said sadly before stepping out, closing the door behind him and walks home instead of his energetic run.

Peter watched Will through his window, noticing how defeated he felt. He understood that feeling too....he then looks at Will's Spider-Man suit carefully. "Gotta get this fixed up....." He mumbled to himself as he carefully picks it up, examining the extent of the damage. "But this can't handle radiation...." He said to himself, already formulating a plan.

After several hours of walking, Will makes it back to the small home of his family, seeing both his siblings run up to him with joy. He scoops them up with a soft smile. "Hey there kiddos! You have a good day today?" He asked, hearing them answer with a yes in unison. "Alright then. Did you do your homework?" He then asked, and they both responded by looking at one another before shaking their heads no. "Alright....you two get to it, and I'll sneak up some of mom's famous brownies for you to enjoy." He offers before setting them down, watching them run upstairs with pure excitement.

Once they were up the stairs, the curly haired troublemaker sits on the couch, lost in thought when his mom came home. "There you are! I was wondering if you were home." She said with a bright smile as she sets down her purse and keys. "Today was a busy day. First, this company was asking us to have all sorts of baked goods for a party they were having, so we had a lot of extra work on our-" she sees Will looking rather exhausted and immediately shows concern for her son. "Honey? Are you alright? Is something wrong at school? Or at your job?" She asked as she sits with him.

The curly haired boy looks at his mom. "I just.....I'm really tired......not necessarily of working I love my job at Mr. Parker's. It's just.... sometimes it feels like so much is on my shoulders.......in a way, it feels like.....I have more responsibilities than I should. It just......makes me wonder how Dad always did it. I mean, he essentially had three kids, you, a household to take care of, and on top of that, his job where he was always busy......I just.....I can't help but think about how he did it all the time......" He answered as honestly as he could.

Ruby looks at her son, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "You miss him every day don't you?" She asked him softly. "You don't have to answer......I just know because.....you were finally getting a chance to get close to your father, and then......he was suddenly just gone....." She said, her own eyes getting misty. "But......your father knew what was at stake......he worked himself every single day, knowing he wasn't the perfect man. But he always tried. He worked every day to try and make up for his mistakes, even if some of them weren't his fault.....yes, he pushed all of us away in some way......but he always cared." She answered, her hand carefully stroking his back. "But you.....you don't have to do what he did for me......you helped me start my own bakery, you take Care of your brother and sister, you work to help even a little bit......you go to school......you have all of your dad's best traits......"

Will looks up at her slightly, listening to his mother's words closely. She was right.....he always worked so hard, and never stopped until his experiments were a success.....he should know, he was technically living proof since bitten by that genetically altered spider. Plus, he did always provide for him and his siblings, not to mention still helped his mom with the bills despite being divorced.

"You have your father's dedication, his drive to get the job done no matter how long it takes. You have his good intentioned personality....you may not have his magnificent brain.....but what you do have is his hard working responsible mindset.....you adapt, and you get better.....just like him.....you also look a lot like him." She tells him softly. "Although, you have my strength and determination to never let people you love get hurt." She lightly teased, ruffling Will's hair affectionately. "Keep working on being the person you wanna be." She tells him before standing up and heading back to the kitchen.

Later that night, Will was in his bed, taking his mother's words and Peter's words to heart.....maybe he could get a decent night's sleep.

(Editor's note: well at least another chapter came out tonight! I cannot believe how close we are til the end of this particular book! Hope you're enjoying so far! :3)