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New York. A quiet country road leading out to a small town.
An old Chevy rumbled slowly down the path, its vintage frame creaking slightly as it moved.
Soft country music flowed out of the half-open window, drifting lazily through the warm countryside air.
In the front seat sat a middle-aged couple. The man drove casually, fingers tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the music playing from the radio.
His wife leaned against the seat, peacefully watching the scenery roll by.
Everything looked calm and harmonious—just your typical weekend family trip.
As the song faded out, the next one kicked in with an upbeat rock intro…
"Hey (hey),What's the matter with your head?Yeah..."
The sudden switch in vibe instantly turned the calm car ride into something more lively. The man's fingers started tapping even more enthusiastically on the wheel.
"Ben, turn the music down a bit—don't wake Peter."
As much as the rock song lifted the mood, it was kind of jarring after the mellow country tune—especially with someone sleeping in the backseat.
"Thanks, Aunt May... but I'm already awake."
Just as Ben Parker reached to turn the volume down, a sleepy voice came from the backseat, clearly still groggy.
"Well, good timing. We're almost there."
Ignoring his wife's slightly annoyed glare, Ben replied without turning his head.
"Mmm..."
Peter Parker groaned softly, shaking his head to snap out of his daze.
Sure, music can help you sleep—depending on the type.
For most people in this world, this classic tune by Redbone was a total vibe.
But for him, someone who had crossed over from another world, the moment that song started playing, a very specific image came to mind…
Thanks to a certain movie in his past life, he could never hear that song without picturing a chubby "god" dancing with a Walkman clipped to his belt…
Just thinking about it forced him to fully wake up.
Especially since he was now living in that very same universe the "idiot god" belonged to.
The music kept playing, but Peter tried to distract himself to get that mental image out of his head.
"Uncle Ben, when are we finally getting a new car? This old thing's probably older than I am."
A trip that should've taken two or three hours had stretched to nearly the whole morning thanks to their ancient Chevy.
Anyone would've started thinking about an upgrade.
"What, you don't like my old buddy anymore? Weren't you the one who kept missing the school bus and had to rely on me and this beauty to bail you out?"
Ben shot back with a teasing tone.
"C'mon, Uncle Ben, I've been super punctual these past few months!"
Peter thought to himself—how is what the old Peter did before the crossover even his fault?
"Yeah, you've been showing up on time lately—but the trouble you're getting into has leveled up too."
"You actually went and stole something from Oscorp—and got caught red-handed!"
"If it weren't for the fact you're still underage, and because of your parents… you'd still be locked up in NYPD right now!"
Just thinking about it made Ben fume. Even now, his face was still tense.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Ben. I didn't mean to make you worry—but I had my reasons."
Catching a glimpse of Ben's stern face in the rearview mirror, Peter could only explain quietly.
After all, he'd just crossed over and inherited Peter Parker's life, so it was only natural to be tempted by the whole "becoming Spider-Man" thing.
Doing something crazy to speed things up? Understandable.
"Reasons? Don't tell me you were trying to investigate your parents…"
Clearly, what Peter meant by "reasons" was very different from what Ben assumed.
"Enough, Ben! We're not here to argue today!"
Aunt May finally stepped in before things could escalate further.
"…Sorry, Peter. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
Ben sighed, realizing he may have come down too hard on the kid.
"But what happened to your parents can't be undone. You can't let that define your future. You've got endless potential ahead of you."
"I understand, Uncle Ben. Aunt May. Don't worry about me."
Peter's tone was unusually calm.
"This kid…"
Ben and May exchanged a look, both quietly worried about how composed he was.
"Come and get your love…"
The song continued to play as silence settled back over the car.
Peter's mind drifted to what had happened a few days ago—sneaking into Oscorp.
He'd been so eager for power, he didn't want to wait around for fate to have some genetically-engineered spider "accidentally" bite him during a school tour.
So, after preparing carefully, he snuck into Oscorp and found the lab where those enhanced spiders were kept.
Even though he triggered the alarm, he still managed to get one of the spiders to bite his arm before the security guards caught him.
So even when he got dragged to the police station, he figured—mission accomplished.
But days had passed since Uncle Ben bailed him out… and still no signs of powers.
"Maybe the spider that bit me was a dud… Next time, I'll get every spider in there to bite me."
With no powers showing up, Peter blamed the spider and began planning another break-in.
Suddenly, the music cut out.
The radio switched to a breaking news segment.
"Breaking news—this morning on the Queensboro Bridge in New York, a family car was rear-ended by a truck and went over the guardrail. Just as it was about to fall, a mysterious figure wearing a mask and tight suit appeared and saved the vehicle using some kind of special webbing, pulling it back to safety."
"Thankfully, only minor injuries were reported. No deaths."
"According to officer George Stacy, there's no indication of foul play. Stay tuned for more updates."
The news ended—but Peter only had one thought in his head:
"Wait… someone else already became Spider-Man?!"
"....."