"I...I..." Parker stammers out, his posture frozen in a mix of making a run for it or just trying to take a swing at me. Finally he shrugs my hand off his shoulder and takes a step backwards before straightening up "...look, I don't know what you're talking about! My name isn't... that name you just said! Just stay away from me!" He turns around and makes a leap off the roof, his web catching onto a building on the other side of the street as he swings away, vanishing as he turns the corner.
Okay, I could probably have handled that better...
"Let's go, the roof is up this way!" a voice comes from the rooftop hatch, and I hear the sound of feet stomping their way up. Sounds like the cops finally decided to risk going after Marko, right after me and Spidey did all the hard work. Typical. Well, I got more important things to do than give an after-action report, so the police can have Glass Man all to themselves, since he's already a wanted criminal, so it's not like they need me to testify.
A police officer finally reaches the top of the stairs, and I recognize him as the one who tried pulling a gun on me back down on the street. "HEY! Stop right there, freakshow! You have a lot of questions to answer!"
"Sorry folks, but I got a meeting to run to. You got any complaints about my work performance, kindly direct them to somone who gives a crap." I flash the officers a quick V-signs before I take a running leap off the roof, ignoring the yells behind me as my body morphs into light and darts away, following the trail of Spider-Man.
....
"You know, kid, if I didn't know better, I would almost think you're avoiding me."
Parker almost falls off the wall he's clinging to when he hears my voice above him. He's crawled into an alley halfway to Manhattan, trying to press himself into a wall in an attempt at hiding. "WH- How the- how did you find me?!"
"Dude, you're fast, but I literally turn into light, I'm kind of hard to outrun. Not to mention you also leave a trail of webs like a mutant Hansel and Greta, maybe next time try just going on foot if you don't want anyone following you?"
Parker takes a flying jump off the wall, landing gracefully on the ledge on the other side of the alley, staying in a crouched position like he's about to leap against me. "Why are you following me at all?! I told you to leave me alone!!" Jesus, his voice actually carries a note of panic, I forgot how high-strung he was about his secret identity back in his early days. Definetly should have thought this through better, but it's a little late to do anything about that now...
I hold up my hands, trying to calm him "Look, P- Spider-Man, I promise you I'm not trying to threaten you or blackmail you or whatever you're imagining is happening here, I just want to talk. It's important."
"And what if I don't want to talk to you?!"
I shrug "Then I leave, you go back to school, and we can both pretend this never happened if that's what you want. But before you answer, let me just point something out; how well has ignoring your problems worked out for you so far?"
Parker almost visibly sags at my last remark "...what do you want?"
"Like I said, just a quick chat."
.....
I flip the cap off the Coke bottle with a tiny light blast before handing it over to him "Sorry, I'd offer you a beer, but I figured you better just stick to the kids menu since you're barely 15."
Parker hesitates for a moment before accepting his drink, and slides down into one of the lawn chairs I snatched from a nearby yard, pulling up the bottom of his mask and takes a long drink. "How do you know how old I am?"
"Well, for one thing, I already know your identity, but there's also the lanky teenager body and the squeaky puberty voice. I mean, the way you contort yourself when you move makes it hard for almost anyone to tell, but when you actuallt stand still, that suit of yours doesn't hide much. You might want to consider padding it a bit."
"Squeak?! My voice doesn't squeak!"
I chuckle as I pop off the cap to my own Coke "Right, that's why when you were panicking back there your voice sounded like it could traumatize dogs." He's about to protest again, but I cut him off "Look, I didn't bring you here to make fun of your unpleasant teenage experiences, we've all been through it, I'm sure you want some answers."
"Yeah, that would be nice, especially the one about how the hell you know who I am!!"
"Okay, it's a long story but..." I sigh, taking a sip from the bottle "the short version is that I get these... flashes, glimpses of things that either might happen, or have happened. I don't know why, but they started around the same time I got my powers, I don't know much about physics, and even less about how time works, but somehow, I think they're related."
Parker just stares "You... know who I am because you can see the future?"
"Oh, like it's any more ridiculous than getting superpowers instead of cancer by being bitten by a radioactive spider?"
"How did you-"
"I see the future OR the past, kid. And I don't get to control what I see. It just happens. And a lot of them include people with powers, or costumed people in general. So, the other day, I started seeing you. The spiderbite, the wrestling match, the burglar, and... well, what happened to-"
Parker stiffens as he looks to the side, his hand clenching around the bottle "Don't. Just... don't."
Better not press him on this "Okay..." We sit in silence for a moment as I let Parker gather himself a bit.
"Alright, let's say I believe you... why did you want to talk to me so damn bad? Just wanted to rub it in my face about knowing all my awful secrets?!"
I blink "What?! Of course not! What kind of dick do you think I am?!"
"How the hell should I know, I don't know you from Adam!"
Jesus christ, teenagers with a grudge "For Gods sake... I'm here because of what I've seen of the future, Spider-Brat! Now would you please unwedge your tights and listen?!"
He slumps in his chair, sulking "Fine, just tell me already. What's so bad about my future?!"
Oh man, where to begin... "You know what, I'll just simplify it down to one thing - this hero thing, the way you're doing it, it's not going to end well, for ANYONE."
He looks up "What do you mean?"
I take a deep breath, reminding myself that while he's kind of a dick, this Peter Parker hasn't screwed himself over as much as he will in the future, and maybe if I can get him to stop with the solo hero crap, or atleast dial it back a little, I can prevent some of it. "Basically, this whole lone wolf routine you do is going to hit diminishing returns really soon, and then you're essentially just going to stumble from one quagmire to the next with zero breathing room. You think juggling Spider-Man and the rest of your life is hard NOW, in high school? Just wait 'til you get to college, or try to get a real job. It's going to be a bum trip, man."
He drains the rest of his Coke and puts the bottle down on the roof "I don't need future visions to know that, what do you expect me to do about it? I'm doing the best I can!"
"No, you're not, which is why it's so frustrating I have to tell you this. You're just doing things the most inconvenient way possible because you hate yourself over what happened to-" he glares at me "-fine, but you know I'm right. You think he would have wanted you to work yourself to death over him?"
"You don't know anything about him! Or me!" He jumps out of the chair, and begins moving towards the edge of the roof "This was a stupid idea, I don't know why I agreed to listen to you!"
Oh for- I raise my hand and a pair of glowing bands appear around Parkers arms and legs, locking him in place.
"HEY! You said I could leave if I wanted to! LET ME GO!"
"And you said you'd listen, without storming off like a toddler throwing a tantrum! Let me finish, then you can storm off all you want! Like I was saying, you might not get yourself killed, but this hero thing is going to ruin both your life and the life of the people around you, if you don't stop trying to police all of New York by yourself! I'm not telling you to stop being Spider-Man, I'm telling you you either need to cut back on it, or get yourself an actual support system!"
Parker struggles against the bonds "I can't! I have to be Spider-Man, these powers come with responsibility!"
"By spending 10 hours a day skulking on rooftops just in case someone somewhere in New York stubs their toe if you aren't there to stop them? By making your aunt think you're a moody, flighty jerk rather than tell her the truth? That's not responsible, that's just anal!" I release the bonds, letting the light dissapate, and releasing Parker, who stumbles backwards before catching himself, glaring murderously at me. I glare right back. "You want to know your future, kid? It'll be you, all alone with nothing to show for your life, because you spent the whole thing pushing away everyone who made the mistake thinking you gave a shit about anything other than your own guilt and martyr complex. And Uncle Ben will still be dead."
For a moment I think he's actually going to try to attack me, his hands clenching into fists as he hunches his shoulders, but finally, he just turns around, shooting me one last furious look before he leaps off the side of the building and swings away, leaving me standing on the roof, feeling like I just kicked an emotionally traumatized puppy.
This day really didn't turn out the way I had hoped...
....
"Well, if it isn't Puny Parker! What happened, you get stuck in whatever hole you hid in when the Sandman was here?"
Peter Parker slammed his locker shut, giving his school tormentor an annoyed look. Flash just grinned smugly, enjoying Peters frustration.
"Flash, you are picking a VERY bad time for this..."
Unsurprisingly, Flash wasn't the least bit deterred "What, you late for a date with a microscope or something? Figures, the one time something exciting happens in this dump, and you make for the hills. You missed out on Spider-Man giving that Sandman creep the business too, the cops had to literally lift him off the roof cause he got himself melted! Man, I wish I could have seen the whole fight! 'Course, he's lucky Spidey showed up, otherwise I would have had to step in!"
Peter rolled his eyes, stuffing his books under his arm and adjusting his glasses "How are you so sure Spider-Man was the one who melted Sandman? Wasn't there some other guy there too?"
"Pfft, that Sunshine guy? I mean yeah, he got a few good licks in, but come on, how tough can some peacenik like that be? I'm sure he's got nothing on Spider-Man! I mean, did you see that ridiculous rainbow shirt he wore? I bet he's a fruit too."
"Whatever Flash, I gotta get to class, I'm late enough as it is, I don't have time to listen to you talk about how incredible Spider-Man is!"
"Pfft, whatever you say, Puny Parker" Flash said, giving Peter a shove as he walked past him towards the gym "You're probably just jealous of Spider-Man, cause there's no way a milksop like you could ever be like him. A guy like that, he's got it made!"
Peter watched Flash disappear around the corner "You'd think so, wouldn't you..."