Peter Parker... Stark?

Prologue

Peter knew something was very wrong when his father came home without his worn leather briefcase and then didn't even stop to take off his wet shoes before rushing towards Peter and gripping his shoulders.

"Peter, it is very important that you do exactly as I say as fast as you can."

Peter only hesitated for a moment before nervously saying, "Okay, Dad."

"You're going to stay with your Aunt May for a little while. I need you to go and pack a suitcase of necessities; leave everything else behind. Got it?"

Confused and more than a little frightened, Peter nodded and disappeared into his bedroom. Satisfied that his son would heed his instructions, Richard Parker raced around the house and gathered all of his and his wife's work and shoved it haphazardly into a random backpack he found in the back of his closet.

"Dad?" Richard jumped slightly as his son appeared in the doorway of his office with a small suitcase in his hand.

"Go get in the car and wait for me there, Peter. I'll be out in two minutes." Peter nodded slowly and left the room. A few moments later, Richard heard the front door open and close. Confident that he was alone, Richard pressed the miniscule button hidden inside one of his desk drawers and a hidden compartment popped open on the wall behind him. Inside were over a dozen glass vials containing genetically altered spiders.

He swept the twenty or so vials of spiders into his bag with one hand and then yanked the zipper shut. He stood and looked forlornly at his office for a few seconds before turning on his heel and following Peter out of the house.

When he climbed into the car he threw it into reverse and sped down the street, not stopping until he reached a red light several blocks later.

When he did, he realized two things.

First, he hadn't put his seatbelt on.

Second, Peter was in tears.

Richard did a double take as he fumbled with his seatbelt. He hadn't seen Peter so distraught in years, and he realized that in his panicky state, he'd neglected to tell his son anything.

The traffic light turned green, and Richard began to drive forward as he gently addressed his son.

"Peter, I need you to listen carefully. I'm really sorry that you've been caught up in the middle of this, but," he took a deep breath, "your mother and I had a breakthrough with the spiders a few weeks ago, and now some very bad people want them for very bad reasons. We're leaving the country for a while, hopefully only a few weeks. Mom is at the airport already, and your Aunt May has agreed to let you stay with her until we get back."

Richard opened his mouth to continue when suddenly Peter interrupted him. "Dad, I'm not five years old anymore. I can tell when you're lying, so sugarcoating the truth only makes it worse." Peter looked down at the suitcase between his feet. "You're not coming back, are you? It's too dangerous for you here." Richard nodded with a melancholy look on his face.

"Take me with you, Dad."

Richard almost slammed on the breaks, but opted instead to squeeze the steering wheel so hard his knuckles went white.

"You know we can't do that, son."

"But Dad, I'm fourteen now, I can take care of myself!"

"No Peter! You can't!" Richard yelled, the stress of the situation finally getting the better of him. "I could never live with myself if I knowingly, willingly, put you in such extreme danger. Trust me, if you could come with us, I wouldn't hesitate to bring you."

Peter was crying again, and Richard had to hide the tears welling in his eyes. "I love you too much to put you through this, son."

"I know, Dad." Peter whispered.

It wasn't until they'd reached May's house and gotten Peter settled that father and son embraced, and through the tears, Peter whispered, "I love you too. Please tell Mom I love her."

And then Richard Parker left the house and never returned, doomed to die with his wife in a fiery plane crash only 29 hours later.

Little did he know that in the panic, one of the spider vials broke. The occupant of said vial crawled through the small opening in the zipper, up Richards shoulder, and into Peter's hoodie as they hugged goodbye.

29 hours later, Richard and Mary Parker were killed, and Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider.

(AN: Hey everyone! AlyssaTano here :) Thanks so much for reading. I'll probably keep the Author's Notes to a minimum, but I thought I'd let you know I appreciate you taking the time to check out my story. Keep smiling!)