Chapter 10 - Godspeed

"Hahaha!" The electric maniac laughed as he soared through the night sky effortlessly, killing the lower lifeforms beneath him as if they were nothing more but ants beneath his boot. He enjoyed the mayhem, taking the lives of the weak, it made him feel like God.

As for why he was attacking Times Square, it was because of all of the energy that was around that area. It was practically unlimited. The billboards, the screens, the lights, they would all be used for the villain to power himself up and take one step closer to becoming pure energy, just as he wanted.

As he hurled bolts of yellow lightning down at the innocent civilians, police cars and helicopters began to arrive in an attempt to stop the villain from causing any more destruction.

"This is the NYPD, put down your weapons, or else we will use lethal force!" The police officer speaking was clearly doubting both his own capabilities and his comrades, it was clear by the tone of his voice. He feared the man in front of him, he feared the supposed 'God', though he had to do his job in the end and try to stop the psychopath.

Electro laughed at the pathetic words of the officer before declaring his godhood once more. "You can't tell God what he can or cannot do you peon! How about I show you a small fraction of what I can do!" Using a single finger, Electro pointed it at one of the police helicopters before causing the tail rotor to explode with a thin, but a precise electric bolt.

The pilot of the helicopter tried to regain control of it, however, his efforts were futile as the vehicle continued to spin uncontrollably. The pilot and his passengers could do nothing but watch as the helicopter began hurling down toward the earth, falling toward a group of innocent civilians who were trying their best to flee from the chaos.

The civilians, the officers, and the pilot all shut their eyes in fear of their own fate. Moments passed, which turned into long seconds of silence, causing everyone who had already counted themselves out to slowly open their eyes to see what was around them.

A hammock of webs held the helicopter in place, protecting the earthlings from the helicopter and the helicopter from striking the earth. "Look!" One of the civilians spoke, pointing her finger toward the hero who saved them. The Phantom Spider, just at the nick of time, had saved them all with his webs and was now swinging away to stop the villainous electric man from causing any more harm.

Shooting electric bolts wildly, Electro failed to notice the hero swinging behind him as he laughed maniacally with each bolt of lightning that he sent down toward the earth. The villain truly felt like a god, whether it be the God or Zeus, his godhood would soon be cemented and known by all.

Or so he thought.

"HRA!" The Phantom Spider screamed from behind the electric, crazed 'god' compelling him to turn his head slightly.

𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠!

Using everything he had, the boy sent a mighty, electrified punch to the side of Electro's head, sending him flying down toward the earth and through a building, reminiscent of how Electro treated the spider, just a day prior.

However, unlike our hero, Electro blasted out from beneath the rubble, flying toward the spider with a hateful gaze as yellow sparks trailed behind him. 'That fucking bug won't get out of my way!' Electro's inner voice screeched as he began charging both hands with electricity.

Like a maniac, he angrily sent bolts of energy toward the spider, though this time the boy was ready and waiting for his attacks. Like an acrobat, the black-cladding hero danced around the bolts by pulling his weight with his webs, flipping and twirling around the bolts as if things were moving in slow motion to him.

Using a single hand, the spider shot a web at Electro's chest, continuing to dodge his energy blasts before yanking him toward himself and kicking him in the face. Electro then launched toward the earth, smashing into a car with so much impetus, that the car was nothing more than a hunk of metal beneath him.

Before he could even come up with a single thought, Electro's face was met by the Phantom Spider's fist as the boy began whaling at him with full-powered, electrified punches. With each punch, Electro's head would forcibly turn side to side, nearly snapping his neck as he tried to muster up enough energy to fight back.

Unbeknownst to our hero, Electro was absorbing what little energy was within the car. As soon as the dark hero realized what was happening, it was too late.

𝘽𝙕𝙕𝙕𝙍𝙏

Electro released a massive beam of electricity, sending the Phantom Spider flying across Times Square and crashing into a small shop. His body rolled to a stop, as he found himself beside about ten people, all taking refuge inside of the building from Electro. They looked at the hero with fear in their eyes, though beneath those fearful gazes were small glimpses of hope upon seeing the Phantom Spider's symbol on his chest.

"It's that spider guy, from the news." A voice muttered.

"Yeah, I heard of him from the Daily Bugle. They said he was a menace but look at him, he's fighting that psycho outside." A different voice, coming from an older man whispered.

"Mommy, is he here to save us?" A little girl mewled as she held onto her mother tightly.

Seeing the people who needed saving, who needed the spider to save them, motivated the boy to stand up on his feet. "I am. Just..." The hero noticed something across the street, Electro's assault hadn't ended yet, no, it was just beginning. Not wanting to show his weakness or his fear, the hero spoke with confidence. "Just hang tight everyone, I got this."

Like a track star, the boy sprinted out of the building, leaping over a water truck and swinging toward the villain who was preparing to attack. Electro, using his electrokinesis abilities, released a crane from its shackles and began toppling it over toward the building that the Phantom Spider was once in. He wanted to crush the spider, though he wasn't aware of the innocent people inside. Regardless, even if he did know, that fact would not have mattered to him.

As the crane slowly toppled over, our hero, the young, trenchcoat-wearing vigilante named the Phantom Spider, held up the crane near its base with all of his strength. Though he was strong, the massive machinery began to overpower the boy, still slowly falling down toward the huddling innocents hiding inside the building from which he'd fled.

If it wasn't for the water truck in front of it, which was then beginning to spew water everywhere as it helped support the weight of the crane, the crane would have crashed into the building and killed everyone inside. Seeing the danger, the hiding innocents began to flee the building, running in different directions just in time for both the Phantom Spider and the water truck to collapse and allow the crane to reduce the building to rubble.

___________

The Phantom Spider, seeing nothing around him but dust and debris after being crushed to near-death by the crane, lay beneath the machine, unable to move an inch.

He was helpless.

The machine was too heavy for him to lift up on his own. He knew that as soon as the dust cleared, the innocent lives that he put everything into saving would have been smitten by the self-proclaimed god named Electro. Having nothing left in the tank, the boy looked up at the night sky, taking one last look at the stars as he felt that he was done for.

'I knew it.' He thought. 'I wasn't cut out to be a hero...' His mind then thought about who he was leaving behind, though it only be a few. 'Cindy...' He thought of the woman he loved but never told. 'Harry.' His friend, though they had barely known each other for a few short months, would also be left behind.

As his vision began to fade, he felt the presence of someone he knew, their voice, a familiar one, spoke to the young man, calling his name. "Eren. Eren!"

Eren looked around for the source of the voice. His vision still appeared blurry, but as he scanned around his environment, his vision began to slowly clear.

He found himself in a car, a familiar one from his past perhaps. The sunroof was open as if he was stargazing from the inside, just as he was before he had given up.

"Eren, did you hear me? I'm talking to you." The voice said again.

"Hm?" Eren's voice sounded as if he had just de-aged by ten years. 'Why do I sound like that? Where am I?' His inner adult voice spoke in his mind, contrasting with the one that came from his mouth.

"I said, do you remember what today is?" The voice said again, sounding as if the person speaking were excited to reveal something to the boy.

'I know this voice...' Eren's inner voice spoke in his mind once again, sounding as his young adult self once did.

At this point, his vision was almost clear. He turned his head and looked to the side to see where the source of the voice was coming from. As his eyes focused on the face of the speaker, they widened.

It was his mother.

"Mom?" Eren's childish voice called out, his eyes were wide and his tiny face was filled with confusion.

His mother frowned slightly, confused and concerned as to why her little boy looked scared so suddenly. "Yes… Eren, are you okay?"

"You're alive?" The boy asked.

His mother looked confused in response to this seemingly insane outburst by her son. "Boy, what the hell are you going on about?" She questioned as her look of concern grew more worried.

Eren sat quietly in his seat, not saying a word, confused about what had just happened. Just a moment ago he was fighting to the death against a man who had almost reached the point of being made of pure electricity, but at that moment he seemed to be sitting in a car stargazing with his mother.

'Was that all a dream?' He asked himself as he looks down at his now childish body. However, if it was a dream, why was his inner voice still that of the eighteen-year-old version of himself he wondered.

"Eren, what do you mean by that? Am I alive?" Her voice sounded as if she is extremely worried for her son. She believed in superstitions, so him telling her this caused her to feel uneasy.

"I don't know. I think I just had a bad dream or something." The child said as he rubbed his small face.

"Oh...Okay." She began to look at Eren with a puzzled and concerned look once more before brushing it off. "Well, do you know what today is?"

"No…" Eren tried to remember what day it was, but he could barely even comprehend what was happening in front of him.

"It's December…" She said as she smiled from ear to ear.

"..." Eren stared at her with a blank and confused expression, not really understanding what she was getting at.

"December 26th. Your birthday, Eren. You forgot your own birthday?" She continued her concerned glare as she spoke, wondering if he had hit his head and suffered brain damage somehow.

"My… birthday. It's December." He looked around outside of the window, causing his eyes to light up due to what he was seeing. He could see Christmas lights and decorations as far as the eye can see throughout the concrete jungle before him.

"I'm sorry that we had to spend Christmas and your birthday sleeping in a car like this." His mother couldn't even look at him as she said this, feeling as if she were a disappointment.

"But it isn't all bad, I was able to get you something that you've been asking for." Her sad expression turned into a slight smile as she reached for something in the glove compartment of the car. "This is for both your birthday and Christmas, so Merry late Christmas and Happy Birthday, Eren."

She handed Eren a box covered in gift wrap, jogging his memory of what was inside. 'I…remember this.' Eren's adult inner voice spoke. 'That's right. My eighth birthday. A few months prior, we'd been evicted since she couldn't pay the rent alone after Dad…'

"Go ahead, open it up." His mother warmly encouraged him with a smile, prompting the boy to begin tearing the paper off of the green and red-wrapped box.

'That's right. This is the same year I got my…' He continued thinking to himself as he opened the present. As he did, his memory of that moment began to all come back to him. Once the wrapping paper was completely removed, he instantly recalled the gift that he received that day. It was a GameBoy SP with Pokémon Emerald.

'That's right. I must've sunk a thousand hours into this game. It was the only game I ever had for a while.' He thought to himself as he stared at the packaging reminiscently.

"So… do you like it? You said you wanted the one with the Pokémon but there are so many different ones like reds and blues and oranges…" She was hoping he appreciated the gift since it was all they could really afford at the moment.

"Yea, this is just what I wanted! Thank you, Mom." Eren's voice weakened as he spoke. The rush of emotions that he felt on that day all rushed back into him in real-time.

"I'm glad." His mother took a sigh of relief as she said this, happy that he was satisfied with the gift. "These GameBoy things have been really hard to find, your father and I were able to get that one before…"

Her smile slowly turned into a mournful expression as she thought of her husband, his father, Richard Parker.

"I'm sorry, Eren. I'm sorry that things are how they are. Your father's passing. Us having to leave our home. Living in a car. Not being able to give you a good Christmas or birthday. It won't always be like this. I promise that eventually, we'll be able to move in someplace and I'll put you in a better school." Tears began to stream down his mother's face as she apologized wholeheartedly to her son.

"It's okay, Mom. It's not your fault. Besides, I'm happy with my gift." Eren smiled brightly in an attempt to cheer her up, at this point in his life his depression hadn't caused that expression to become a rarity yet. The current day Eren, seemingly trapped within himself, realized that fact as well upon feeling himself express such happiness.

With tears still in her eyes, she looked at Eren with a serious expression and put one hand on his cheek. "I might not always be here for you, Eren." She said to him as more tears flowed down her face. "But, I promise. While I am here. I will do everything… Everything in my power to raise you to become a strong man someday. And if I somehow don't make it. To see you grow up and become a man…"

Scarred, the boy whimpered words to his mother. "Mom? Why are you talking like this?" Tears began to build up around Eren's as well eyes before they fell down his eight-year-old face.

"Never give up, Eren. No matter how hard life gets. Even if I'm gone and you're all alone. Keep going. You're so smart, Eren. And despite being so young, you're strong. If you find yourself knocked down to the ground..."

Simultaneously, Eren's mother's voice along with his own present-day voice spoke to him.

"Get. Back. Up."

Eren opened his eyes and turned his head to see Electro charging up with electricity with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. The dust was almost cleared, within a few moments, Electro would attack those hiding beneath it.

'What was that?' Eren thought to himself. 'Is that what they mean by your life flashes before your eyes? It was like I just relived a memory. My eighth birthday...' His body was still numb from being shocked from the inside out as he attempted to comprehend what happened. He didn't know it yet, but this was a side effect due to his own powers mixing with the Nuform from Roxxon. That memory was real, though slightly altered, and he had relived it.

'Get back up.' His inner voice told him.

'Get back up!' His inner voice commanded him once again.

Somehow, mustering up enough strength, the hero began lifting the crane off of his tired, exhausted body. Though not shown, beneath his mask, the boy's face winced in pain as he put everything he had into lifting that crane.

'Get back up.' His mother's voice echoed in his mind, encouraging him even further.

Unconsciously, a blue aura of electricity begins to surround his arms and legs as he began pushing harder, somehow generating more power. His muscles, hiding just like his face, contracted aggressively as he continued to push with his entire being.

'Get back up.' His inner voice pressed him once again.

Now on one knee as he continued to push the crane upward, loud crackling sounds could be heard coming from the hero's body. Electro, still charging up his body, could see the blue sparks of electricity through the dust as it began to clear

'GET UP!' The boy's inner voice urged him one last time, as well as his mother's, giving the boy the last bit of motivation he needed to push the crane off of himself and dash out from beneath it.

Meanwhile, Electro aimed his hand toward the civilians and began releasing electricity from his fingertips.

Although the hero did not have the full aura of energy around him, the white hair, or the ability to run at super speeds just yet, he was still able to use this new, blue energy to push himself off of the ground and flash-step toward the people in need.

Just as the electricity shot from Electro's hands, the Phantom Spider reached the civilians, realizing the Electro wasn't necessarily aiming at them, but the water beneath them in an attempt to fry all of them to death.

Just as the bolt of electricity hit the water, the boy outran the super-conducted liquid and grabbed all four fleeing people with his long arms, scooping them up and using his new ability to push off the ground and leap away from the danger.

Landing somewhere safe, the hero dropped the civilians off and instructed them to flee. "Run!" The boy demanded them, causing the shaken-up innocents to run away from the danger.

The boy's limbs shone with a bright blue aura, as seen by the little girl that he saved as she looked backward while her mother carried her away from the scene.

His new power had finally fully manifested itself.

This is Godspeed.