Chapter 7: Pride
For the briefest of moments, Peter believed he'd died.
Soon he realized he felt something smooth, flat and hard against his face... He questioned whether or not he was hallucinating... He had just been bitten by a glowing spider, so it wouldn't have been too much of an assumption for this to be some sort of dream or nightmare.
Opening his eyes fully, Peter found himself hanging onto the side of a building... upon looking down he realized he was at least three stories up.
Calculating the street to be thirty feet below him, Peter started to freak out. It wasn't like he was afraid of heights... But who wouldn't be fearful of hanging off the side of a building!
Spotting the Ambulance he'd just jumped out of the way from... he noticed it had stopped. The driver had gotten out and had started looking around curiously scratching his head, the driver soon gets back into the ambulance and started to drive away feeling bewildered and confused.
Tentatively at first, and then with growing confidence, Peter starts to crawl up the side of the building. He was defying physics as he understood them... he felt a force from his hands allowing him to scale the side of a building with little to no difficulty.
This was completely outside of the realm of possibilities, he had never heard or seen anything like it before. Finally, at the top, he gripped the railing and he was just about to bring himself to the top when the metal broke away in his grasp.
Trying unsuccessfully to catch himself... without warning the danger was gone... his feet were still planted on the vertical wall he had been clinging on moments before... it was almost like gravity had shifted... just for him.
It felt like the world no longer had an up and a down... almost like wherever he stood was now his up and down. Thinking things through, he began to follow his instincts and vaulted to the roof using one hand and lands with a grunt. "Things have just gotten interesting..." Peter said as he started looking down at the world below him.
THREE WEEKS LATER
Crusher Cole was doing flexes while the crowd went wild over his antics. There are cameras and signs and banners proclaiming "SLAM JAM" everywhere. Normally Peter wouldn't be caught dead here, it would ruin his already horrible image. No, this place is meant for people like Flash and his goon squad. Not that he hasn't ever watched an episode or two, but it is just so outlandishly fake that he felt it be completely childish. But when he was searching for a way to make some money he remembered Kim wanting to sell tickets to Flash. One thing leads to another and he managed to enter a special contest to win a few thousand dollars.
Dressed in a red long sleeve sweatshirt and blue sweat pants and donning a Lucha libre mask to protect his identity Peter started towards the runway. Probably looking almost as stupid as he felt he looked down at the spray-painted spider on his chest, he had thought of a great name to call himself and was looking forward to hearing it announced to the awaiting crowd.
Suddenly he heard the announcer's voice ring out to the audience "And now, a new challenger, for the fight with a cash prize, weighing in at one hundred and fifty pounds... from parts of the world unknown! Here is the Amazing... Mysterious... Incredible Superman...
"No, not that... Spider-Man!" Peter told him in frustration but he didn't change his words so Peter came out probably confusing a lot of people.
The crowd booed the slender youth as he climbed up to a large square ring and awkwardly squatted through the barrier ropes. Twin redheads in red bikinis walk through the ring holding up a sign saying 'Round One' and as they finish Peter heard a loud bell ding.
Crusher Cole was twice the size of spidey, some would even make a comparison between David and Goliath when they look at the vast difference. Spotting a TV camera for the first time Peter momentarily freezes. While the Crusher sneered at Peter in distaste for his lack of composure. Then he charges! Peter has been spending the last few weeks jumping and preforming acrobatic stunts he had never been able to do before. So when the beast of a man jumps towards him...
Spidey leaps out of the way. Crusher comes back at him again attempting to grab a hold on Peter's clothes. Spidey flipped backward delivering a kick to crusher's chin! As the fight continues the acrobatics get more and more dramatic as Crusher Cole works himself up into a theatrical rage. Taunts begin to erupt from the crowd, some causing the Crusher to blush.
Spidey, noting Crusher's reaction, begins to get into it now.
"Whatsamatter, Crusher, can't you crush me? Maybe we should come up with a new name for you?" Putting a finger to his chin in a thinking pose he waits a moment before snapping his fingers. "I got it! How about 'The failure'."
"Okay, Webhead, that's it!" He runs at Peter only to miss spidey once again.
"Hey, Crusher, you need some insecticide!" Peter tittered.
Liz's side is all schoolwork. Kim's side is all rock posters and stuffed animals. Liz is curled up doing homework. Flash and Kim were setting on the edge of the bed watching "SLAM JAM" on TV.
Will you look at this Spider-Man guy! He is absolutely incredible! Flash said totally thunderstruck by Peter's performance.
"Liz, get a load of this outfit! I wish I had it for the Halloween party... it's quite sexy." Kim said fascination in her eyes.
Unbeknownst to her Flash's eyes cut from the TV to Kim in a lustful gaze.
"Will you two just shush. I'm trying to work." Liz said attempting to ignore both of their chatter.
INSIDE THE RING -
The match continues in an increasingly spectacular choreography. Crusher bellows at the screaming crowd. But there's a gleam in his eye. This is it! He charges. spidey, playing the cameras for all he's worth, leaps way, way up. But this time Crusher stops dead in his tracks. Spider-Spider-Man comes back down into a forearm smash that sends him reeling into a corner. Crusher does a flying pin. All of his 300 pounds land on the small form of Peter Parker. Womp! The air leaves Peter in a rush as Crusher covers him, smothering him.
The crowd goes wild.
"One...! Two...! Three..." The Ref was counting down and the audience was counting with him.
Not realizing his own strength and panicky about being squashed, Spider-Man throws crusher cole off him and up into the air. Peter, totally surprised at his own strength, watches crusher land and after a few moments, he didn't appear to be getting back up.
Whispering to himself "Wow..."
In a stunned voice, the Announcer narrates to the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, history is made today! We have here the first man to win a cash prize against the mighty Crusher." The Ref raises Peter's hand in victory, for the first time in a very long time Peter feels really great about himself. The crowd boos and debris rains down. Peter reveled in the feeling, recognizing the new sensation.
Spider-man steps down from the right as leads the cheers.
"Max! Am I really gonna get a thousand..."
"We are going to get a thousand..." Peter turns and comes face to face with Crusher Cole.
Two ominous beats later.
"Hi, who are you, kid?"
"I'm..."
"He is Spider-Man, and I handle him... Whenever you want a rematch call me." An older white man says coming out of nowhere. He was a heavyset man in a purple suit holding his hand out to Crusher Cole.
"Spider-man..." Crusher said with one eyebrow raised ignoring the offered hand.
"Oh, look, Mr. Crusher, I'm really sorry about what happened in there. Really..." Peter said, sounding a little shy.
"Oh, well, I don't know what happened to
me tonight..."
Cole said measuring his muscles, "I didn't expect something like that to happen... but no harm done."
"We know... you lost. Big man, you lost to the Amazing Spider-Man." The purple suited man replied with a huge grin
CITY STREET - 10:00 AM
Peter, Liz, Harry, and Kim were standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross the busy morning traffic. Peter happily rocking back and forth on his heels and smirking.
"So you guys see 'SLAM JAM' last night?
Walking ahead of them Liz groaned,
Not you too Peter... I don't understand why people are so fascinated by some wrestlers. Those guys are just a bunch of clowns! Like bad reality TV.
"Boy does Flash think he's hot though..." Kim said with a smirk at Liz."
"He does..." Feeling prideful Peter asked.
"Yeah, he really loves wrestling. It's his worse quality" She smiled.
"Wrestling is all bluff. Do you really believe this little guy in a stupid spider suit beat the Crusher?" Harry said annoyed at the entire conversation.
Peter was about to reply when he got a call. Stepping away he answered, it was from May and she normally didn't call this early. "Peter...pet.." She was sobbing and was trying to rush to tell him something. "It's Ben...he..."
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone