Spider-Man: Coming Back Home

Chapter 2

"Faster, faster!" Morgan squeals gleefully as Peter swings the duo across Queens. Peter knows how much Morgan loves the fact that he has spider powers, so he uses that to his advantage. "Speed of light, Peter!" Morgan is atop Peter's shoulders, hanging on tight as her glorified piggyback ridee swings her toward the tallest building seen in sight. Peter laughs as he notices Morgan sticking her tongue out for the breeze. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," Peter smiles as he says. After a quick trip around all the neighborhoods and boroughs of New York City, Peter usually felt pretty tired, especially when he's also carrying his small sister, but not today. "Sister?" Peter asks himself, "am I going crazy?"
"Here we are!" Peter exclaims as he carefully carries Morgan to the cement of the Queens alleyway outside his apartment. "Your web-swinging classroom!"
"My... what?" Morgan looks confused, as well as disgusted, as she looks around the dirty section of the city. As she looks around, she catches a glimpse of blood stains and graffiti on the walls. "This place seems not good," Morgan reports proudly.
"And that's why you're gonna learn how to be like me," Peter points his thumb to himself as he takes his web shooter off his skinny right wrist.
"Ooh!" Morgan celebrates. Peter knows she's always wanted to try the webbing herself, but she's never actually done it. The three-foot-five girl runs toward Peter, hands extended as far as possible for the device.
Peter moves his arm with device in hand out of Morgan's reach. "Careful!" he says, knowing full well that if he doesn't say so, he'll be up all night repairing the web shooter.
"Okay," Morgan says in rejoice, knowing how long she's wanted this. "So how does it work?"
"Do you see this button right by your palm?" Peter explains, trying to get a five-year-old to understand, even though he knows that Morgan isn't like other five-year-olds; she's a Stark.
"Yeah, what about it?" Morgan asks inquisitively. She reaches for the small button, but Peter quickly blocks her.
"Well, have you seen this really old movie called, 'The Phantom Menace'?"
"Yeah."
"Remember the laser swords?"
"Yeah."
"Well, when they pushed the red button, like this one, the sword turned on, just like this web shooter. Here, put it on." A small tear escapes Peter's eye as he helps the small girl adjust the web shooter, thinking of Tony. "Aim your wrist towards the wall-no, not like that!"
"Oh."
"There." Peter moves Morgan's hand in a way so that her palm is facing up, and her fingertips facing the grey brick wall ahead of them. "And... press the button!"
Morgan presses the button so quickly with excitement that Peter can't even see when she does. Suddenly, a translucent string of a sticky web ejects from the shooter, and as it hits the cement wall, it spreads out to look exactly like a cobweb or spiderweb. "Whoa!" Morgan says as she gapes at the wall. "How did it do that?"
"Physics," Peter replies with the happiest smile he's had in a month. "Of course, that's just the beginning. Next time, we'll try the extra-sticky stuff." Peter looks over to see Morgan gawk at the device on her arm, excited for her next try.
"Peter," she asks, "when are you going to show me your superhero outfit? Mommy and Daddy would talk about it all the time, especially Daddy. He loved it." Peter turned white as he thought of the black cloak on top of his prized possession. He... loved it? Wow. He swore to himself that he would never be Spider-Man again, but Peter thinks again.
"What if I'm making the wrong choice?" Peter thinks to himself.
"We'll see, Morgan," Peter says, deflecting the question swiftly. "We'll see."
A few minutes later, while Morgan continues with the contraption on her arm, Peter feels a vibration from his phone.
1 MESSAGE FROM: AUNT MAY
AUNT MAY: Peter, where are you? I know you left your room. I hope you're with Morgan. In fact, can you two come to the apartment? I have some Oreos I need to get rid of... ;)
"Who's that?" Morgan asks sweetly as she looks over to Peter hunched over his phone.
"The cookie fairy that you met at..." Peter doesn't know how to explain a funeral to a toddler, so he tries something different, "the fairy you met at the party outside your house last month. Remember her?" May had introduced herself that day, and soon after gave Morgan some cookies, and will now and forever be known as the cookie fairy, at least to Morgan.
"The cookie fairy!" Morgan exclaims. "What does she say?"
"She wants to know if you'd like some cookies at my house. See?"
"Let's go! Can I swing us there?"
Peter laughs. "Not today."
"Okay," Morgan interjects. "Let's go!"