The Soulmate Initiative: Book 1

3. Spiderling? Spiderboy?

LOCATION: QUEENS

Ashley Stark watched videos on YouTube of a hero in Queens, called Spiderman. She was so curious, she could tell he had made his outfit and tools himself. She started doing research, trying to figure out who it was, it wasn't easy, but things started falling in place… She is currently sitting on a couch in the apartment of Spiderman's Aunt. Spiderman is a kid, Ashley was very surprised and very impressed when she found that out. The pair are currently waiting for the kid to get home, so they can have a chat.

The front door is unlocked and a teenage boy of about 15 or 16 walks in, listening to music "Hey May." He doesn't look over to see the pair, instead wanders around putting things down "Hey. How was school today?" "It was okay. There's this crazy car parked outside." Then he sees Ashley and stares in shock. Ashley looks over and smiles "Oh, Mr Parker." The boy takes his earphones out "Umm… Wh-What are you doing…" He tries to calm himself down, but can't help from stuttering "Hey! Uh, I'm-I'm-I'm Peter." "Ash." "What are you, what are you… What are you doing here?" Ashley had come up with a fake story to tell the Aunt and had began the moment she had arrived, but now she has to get the boy in on it to "It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?" The boy looks at his Aunt, to see she has no idea what's going on "Yeah. Yeah. Regarding the…" His Aunt speaks "You didn't tell me about the grant." The poor boy is confused, but just goes with it "About the grant." Ashley helps "The September Foundation." "Right." "Yeah. Remember when you applied?" "Yeah." "I approved, so now we're in business." Aunt May speaks again "But you didn't tell me anything. What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?" "I-I just know how much you love surprises. So I thought I would let you know… uh…" He then quickly looks to Ashley "Anyway, what did I apply for?" "That's what I'm here to hash out." "O-Okay. Hash-hash it out, okay. Is this grant got money involved or whatever? No?" "Yeah, it's pretty well funded. Look who you're talking to." Ashley looks to Aunt May "Can I have 5 minutes with him?" "Sure."

Peter leads Ashley to his bedroom, once in, Ashley shuts and locks the door. She wanders around, taking a look at everything. She notices a very old computer "Whoa, what have we here? Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?" "Uh, the uh garbage, actually." "You're a dumpster diver?" He tries to justify himself "Yeah, I was… A-Anyway, look, um. I definitely did not apply for your grant." "Ah-ah! Me first." "Okay." "Quick question, of the rhetorical variety." Ashley pulls out her phone, bring up a Spiderman video on YouTube, of him swinging around Queens, fighting crime, and shows it to Peter "That's you, right?" "Uh, no. Wh-What do you mean?" "Yeah." She brings up another video "Look at you go." Spiderman catches a car before it hits a coach "Wow! Nice catch. 3000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That's not easy. You got mad skills." "That's not… That's all on YouTube, though, right? I mean, that's where you found that? Because you know that's all fake. It's all done on a computer-" Ashley spots a hatch in the ceiling "-It's like that video, what is it?" "Yeah. Oh, you mean like those UFOs over Phoenix?" "Exactly." She sees a long stick and grabs it, she hits the hatch with it and the outfit Spiderman wears, falls out, attached to a rope "Oh, what have we here?" Peter quickly pulls it down and stuffs it in his wardrobe "Uh…" He has no way to hide it all now "So, you're the Spiderling. Crime fighting spider. You're Spiderboy?" "S-Spiderman." "Not in that onesie, you're not." "It's not a onesie." He sighs "I don't believe this. I was actually having a really good day today, Miss Stark." Ashley grabs the outfit and takes a closer look at it, as Peter continues "Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there… and algebra test, nailed it." "Who else knows? Anybody?" He shakes his head "Nobody." "Not even your Aunt?" "No. No. No! If she knew, she would freak out. And when she freaks out, I freak out." As Ashley investigates the outfit, she finds the webbing he uses to restrain criminals "You know what I think is really cool? This webbing. That tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured it?" "I did." "Climbing walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?" "I-It's a long story. I was-" Ashley holds the goggles up to her eyes "Lordy! Can you even see in these?" "Yes! Yes, I can." "I'm blind!" Peter grabs the outfit from Ashley once again and throws it back into her wardrobe "I can see in those. Okay? It's just that when whatever happened, happened, it's like my senses have been dialed to 11. There's way too much input, so they-they just kinda help me focus." "You're in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom, hundred point restoration. That's why I'm here."

Peter finally settles down, so Ashley asks "Why you doing this? I gotta know, what's your MO? What gets you out of that twin bed in the morning?" "Because… because I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers for 6 months. I read books, I build computers. Yeah, I would love to play football, b-but I couldn't then, so I shouldn't now." "Sure, because you're different." "Exactly. But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not. When you can do the things that I can but you don't… and then the bad things happen… they happen because of you." Ashley understands "So you wanna look out for the little guy, you wanna do your part? Make the world a better place, all that, right?" "Yeah, yeah. Yeah, just looking out for the little guy. Th-That's what it is." "I'm gonna make you a suit."