New York
August 20, 17:03 EDT
His handy web shooters had once again proven their usefulness, allowing him to travel from Upper Manhattan to Queens, with a little train surfing in between, in no time flat. Even with stopping a carjacking and a mugging on the way, he made it there much faster than he would've by taking just the train.
Queens had a more relaxed, suburban feel compared to Manhattan, which is why Ben and May chose to live in Queens, opting for a quieter place to call home rather than the city. They even lived in the exact same location their comic counterparts had famously called home, 20 Ingram Street, but Peter's destination for the day was not their home but the salvage yard.
Depending on the medium, Uncle Ben had different jobs, ranging from an electrician to a retired textile worker to an unspecified blue-collar occupation, although he often had a retired military background. In this reality, he still had a retired military background, but he was also the proud owner and operator of his very own salvage yard aptly named Ben's Salvage Yard.
He mostly dealt with small-time stuff and not industrial contracts, something that Peter had heard May pushing him to accept many times over the years. Still, even though he didn't try to vie for industrial contracts, the salvage yard kept him plenty busy and allowed them to live comfortably; not that Peter's parents would ever allow them to live uncomfortably if it ever came down to it.
'Treasure Planet. The loot of a thousand worlds.' thought Peter, looking at the entrance to the salvage yard as well as the sign that read Ben's Salvage Yard and had a cartoon depiction of Ben. 'If Uncle Ben didn't own this salvage yard, I would've had to pay for all the parts I've used over the years for my tinkering.'
As he approached the salvage yard, he was hit with the familiar smell of musty, metallic, oily odors with an undertone of burning rubber and plastic. He could also hear the roaring of the crane's engine, the banging of scrap metal being moved around, and the whirr of the compactors in action. Before the change, the salvage yard could be a little overwhelming to the senses, but after, it was almost too much to handle.
'Damn.' thought Peter, grimacing a little as he stood still, adjusting to the assault on his senses. 'My senses aren't even that superhuman.'
"Peter, is that you?" he heard May say. "Are you okay? You're grimacing."
She had just walked out of the office building located right by the entrance to the salvage yard, carrying a clipboard in her hand, when she saw Peter.
"Hey, Aunt May." said Peter, wiping the grimace off his face and approaching her. "I'm fine. Just forgot how much the salvage yard smells."
"Tell me about it. I don't wear anything to work if it costs more than ten dollars, or the smell of this place will ruin it." she said, hugging him in greeting. "How've you been?"
"Feel like a million bucks." said Peter.
"That's good to hear. How's high school treating you so far? Is it as bad as I remember?"
"Worse."
"Ugh. Can't even imagine myself going to high school in this day and age, what with the internet and everything." she said, shaking her head.
"I don't know, Aunt May. Uncle Ben's shown me pictures of you in high school, and I think you would thrive in high school if you were my age right now." he said. "You'd probably be a beauty blogger or something."
"Oh, stop it. You Parker men are all a bunch of sweet talkers." she said, swatting him on the arm. "Come on, your Uncle Ben's using the crane."
They entered the salvage yard, passing the office and entering the yard, which was very neat and organized compared to other salvage yards Peter had gone to before. There were stacks of flattened cards, stripped of anything useful and ready to be scrapped, taking up one side of the yard, while non-flattened, unstripped cars, old appliances, rusty parts, etc., took up the majority of the rest of the yard.
As they neared the back, the sound of the crane got louder until the aforementioned crane came into view. Driving it was Ben, taking out a cube of metal from the compactor and loading it onto a flatbed. As he moved the cube onto the flat bed, he noticed Peter and May, his face lighting up with surprise. He quickly placed the cube onto the now full flatbed and turned off the crane, exiting it.
"Peter. What a nice surprise." he said, hugging Peter. "You here to take me up on that job offer?"
"Ben, I told you not to pressure him. Let him decide." said May, swatting his arm.
"Right, right, sorry, Peter. No pressure. Offer stands indefinitely." said Ben, patting him on the arm. "So what are you doing here? Here to look for more parts for whatever gizmo you're building?"
"Come on, Uncle Ben, you make it sound like I'm here just for the parts. I'm also here to see my favorite aunt and uncle." said Peter.
"We're your only aunt and uncle."
"And yet you're still my favorite." said Peter, causing Ben and May to chuckle. "I am looking for some parts for something I'm working on."
"Alright, well, you know where everything is, so we'll leave you to it, but stop by the office before you leave." said Ben.
"You moved the—" said May.
"Oh, right. We moved the more tech parts into the garage. A few of the other salvage yards have been having thieves break in and steal that type of stuff, so we had to move it." said Ben. "Everyone's gone for the day, so you can take your time."
"There's been break-ins? Are you two okay?" asked Peter, worried.
"We're fine. No one's broken into here. Besides the fact that we have cameras all over the place and a good security system in the garage and office, I can take care of myself." said Ben, flexing his muscles. "I used to box in the Navy, you know. Even won a few championships back in the day."
"Yes, yes, he and every other person you've ever met know you boxed in the Navy." said May, rolling her eyes while Peter chuckled.
"Maybe, but does he know I almost put his teacher on his ass before?" boasted Ben.
"Ted Grant? You fought him before?" asked Peter, surprised since he had never heard Ben mention that story before.
"Oh, yeah. A long time ago. I was, oh, 20, I think. He was at one of the tournaments as a guest judge, and everyone else was too cowardly to ask him for pointers, but not me. I asked him, and he agreed, so we went a few rounds. I had my ass handed to me, but in the last round, I landed a nice right hook to his jaw that made him lose consciousness for a second." he explained, chest puffed up as he told the story. "So, if you ever need pointers, feel free to ask."
"Wow. That's impressive, Uncle Ben." said Peter, genuinely impressed.
He had trained with Ted Grant for about two years and had experienced his skills firsthand. Before the change, he had won a handful of spars out of a countless number, so the fact that Ben was able to knock him out when he was younger, even for just a moment, was beyond impressive.
"It's no big deal." he replied, beaming with pride.
"Tell him what happened next, macho man." said Mary.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mary." Ben said, his prideful look vanishing.
"So you didn't get knocked out right after, and you didn't get knocked out so hard that the medics were worried, resulting in you missing the entire tournament?" asked Mary, eyebrow raised.
"Cough." Ben coughed, looking a little embarrassed, while Peter simply smiled. "Anyway, Peter, take what you like and take your time."
"Thanks, Uncle Ben." said Peter, leaning in close to him. "And between you and me, the story ended when you knocked him out."
"Haha, that's what I like to hear." said Ben, patting him on the back before walking off with May; the two walked hand in hand, still acting like newlyweds.
Seeing that, it got him thinking about what Ronnie had asked him regarding whether he wanted a girlfriend.
'Dad and Uncle Ben both ended up with someone great, if a little ball-busting. I wonder if I'll ever find someone like that.' he thought as he made his way to the garage. 'I wonder if I'll ever find my MJ.'
~
Thankfully, Ben kept things neat and organized, which allowed Peter to quickly find what he was looking for. He already had some of the key components in his lab, but now with the stuff from the junkyard, he was confident he would be able to add the thermal imaging upgrade to his lenses, allowing him to track Killer Frost.
While the upgrade was mostly done to track Killer Frost, it was something he had been wanting to do ever since he rescued Mei, the little girl he had saved from the burning building. Thermal imaging wasn't exactly what he had in mind for rescue operations like that, considering the flames would make it difficult to see anything, but it was the best he could do at the moment.
With the parts in his backpack, he went to the office building, where he chatted with Uncle Ben and Aunt May for a while before noticing that it was getting close to the time he needed to meet up with Ronnie. He said his goodbyes to them, promising to visit again soon before leaving.
One train surf later, he was back in Manhattan, web-swinging through the sky in his suit, making his way to Ronnie's house.
'It's barely six. I got some time to stop some crime. Hey, I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it.' thought Peter, before internally cringing. 'Thank god there's no one around to read my thoughts.'
He was swinging north on Park Avenue, crossing 70th Street, when he saw a purse snatcher take an old lady's purse and take off running in his direction.
"Wow, robbing sweet old ladies? What's next, kicking puppies?" he said as he landed in front of the purse snatcher, startling him.
"Back off, man." said the purse snatcher as he took out a knife and began waving it around. "I'm not afraid to cut you."
"Is that a real knife?" said Peter, acting scared.
"Yeah, it's real. Now let me go and we'll be square." said the man, swiping the knife at the air.
"No, not a knife. That's my one weakness." he said in a scared voice, raising his hands in mock surrender as he fell to his knees.
"That's right." said the man, smiling in triumph.
Faster than he could react, Peter snatched the purse from the man with a web, shooting a ball of webbing at the hand holding the knife and causing it to fall to the floor. He then yanked the purse snatcher's pants down with a quick flick of his web, revealing the man was wearing a black thong.
"Whoa! Now that's what I call a bold fashion choice." said Peter as he webbed the man to a nearby lamppost. "You know what I want to apologize. I think I went too far by pulling your pants down, you know. It was a heat-of-the-moment thing. I mean, I'm not judging. Different strokes for different folks, and all that, but I think the next time you decide to snatch an old lady's purse, at least wear some tighty-whities."
"Come on, dude! Let me go!" said the man, struggling and trying to get free of the webbing. "I didn't do anything!"
"Yeah, right, you accidentally ran off with someone else's purse. Classic misunderstanding." said Peter, turning to see that the old lady had caught up with the two of them.
"My purse! That's my purse!" she said, pointing at the purse in Peter's hand.
"Here you go, ma'am. Safe and sound, with only a little bit of webbing. Should buff right out in a few hours." he said, handing the purse to the old lady.
"Oh, thank you, young man." she said, smiling as she took the purse. "Did you catch that nasty man who took my purse and nearly knocked me over?"
"He's present and accounted for." said Peter, pointing at the lamppost.
"Oh my." said the old lady, covering her mouth in surprise. "I have that very same thong."
"That's ... " said Peter, swallowing what almost came up. "Nice to hear."
"I got you, Spider-Man! I called the cops already!" said a random bystander, pointing at his phone. "Go help the rest of the city!"
"Hey, thanks, man!" he said, giving the man a thumbs-up.
"Here you go, young man." said the old lady, holding a piece of butterscotch candy. "Just for you."
"Are you trying to bribe me?" joked Peter, taking the candy. "I appreciate it. You stay safe, ma'am."
He jumped as high as he could before swinging away.
'That's an image I'm never getting out of my mind.' he thought, shaking his head to dispel the image that had appeared. 'At least I got a candy for my troubles.'
His spider-senses tingled, and he turned to look in the direction he felt it pulling him. Two blocks away, Peter could see a figure climbing up the side of a high-rise. The figure was wearing a purple spandex suit, sporting a black spider emblem on his forehead that intersected with golden eye pieces, and had two dull gray bracelets on his wrists.
Already, Peter was feeling a sense of déjà vu, but when the figure pointed his arm up and shot out a line of red webbing that they used to propel themselves higher up, he knew why.
'The impostor that killed Dexter's owner!'
~~
AN
So I think I've settled on Barbara Gordon being the main LI. I think the two personalities mesh well, and she's not the quiet, passive type, which is not what Peter needs. She will be two years older than in canon, so one year younger than Peter.
That said, they are endgame, so Peter might take a while to end up with her, but who knows who he'll end up dating before then.