Peter stood up with a grunt, reloading his web-shooters before slipping the cloth mask off and holding it in one hand, his goggles in the other.
A distraction was as good a plan as any, huh? It was the best he had, right now at least.
"Sorry to disappoint…" Peter began, gripping the objects in his hands before throwing them in two opposite directions, waiting for Nejire to shoot shock waves at them before slingshotting himself into the air and out of the smoke.
His grin was exposed along with the rest of his face to the whole world, he shot a barrage of webbing at his opponent in mid-air.
"I'm the spectacular kind of spider!" Peter yelled, legs outstretched in a kick that Nejire barely dodged, responding with a series of small energy waves shot in his direction.
Pulling himself away from the energy blasts, Peter flipped through the air and stuck to the side of the top portion of the stone frame, taking a few breaths and looking down at the flying form of Nejire.
He could feel the sweat on his face without the feeling of cloth, how the wind blew past his hair freely.
It was a weird feeling, but it didn't matter right now.
He could freak out about showing his face to the world later. He had a fight to win now!
"You just gonna float there or are we gonna keep fighting? I haven't met my joke quota yet!" Peter yelled down at her, watching as she snorted for a second before beginning to charge up attacks.
There we go, they got back on track!
Using the surface he was sticking to as a springboard, Peter flipped forward towards Nejire, twisting his body away from the spiral of energy.
Alright, he had to get Nejire to stay still for a second so he could get her out of bounds, but how?
Just as the wave of energy crashed onto the stone far behind him, he got an idea.
He just had to anchor her down!
Peter took aim, shooting one line of webbing that stuck to the tiled ground far below him and another at Nejire.
Seeing this, Nejire easily flew out of the way of the line of webbing, too bad she didn't see the second one Peter shot in her direction.
Bullseye.
Quickly, the boy ties both lines together and tethering Nejire to the ground.
Looking at her now, Peter couldn't help but think that she kinda looked like someone ta lasso around a bird.
Well, guess that's kinda what he did.
Peter rolled the landing, watching as Nejire's constant attempts to fly away were starting to rip the tile off of the ground.
Damn, looks like his plan didn't buy him as much time as he'd like.
Okay, he just… needs to catch his breath for a moment and think.
Think of a plan, of a way to win this thing. A way to bring Nejire out of bounds without going out of bounds himself.
The tile Nejire was tethered to began cracking, Nejire's attempt to fly away pulling it up more and more.
Wait, he doesn't need to get her out of bounds! Just had to immobilize her like he did like Kemuri in his first match!
His uncovered eyes looked around the arena, trying to plan out a path for his new plan.
What plan was he on? Plan C or something? They haven't been working out so far but he had faith on this one!
The sound of an impact snapped him out of his thoughts, Peter seeing how Nejire got tired of trying to rip the tile out of the ground and simply… destroyed it along with a decent portion of the arena.
Crap, that was even less time than he thought he had!
Spider-Sense ringing, Peter flipped out of the way of another of Nejire's shockwaves, the girl having flown in close.
"Hey, hey, stop running!" She yelled, Peter shooting a few webs at her before he touched the ground again.
Shooting a line at the top of a pillar, Peter flew into the air with a tug, Nejire still close behind.
"Can't we talk this out? It's getting hard to dodge your death lasers, you know!" He joked over his shoulder, flipping onto the pillar and jumping out of the way of Nejire tackling him.
Huh, so much for staying at a distance!
While the girl righted herself in the air and came to a stop, Peter shot a barrage of webbing that connected the 4 pillars.
It was a wide web of silk above the arena, the net casting a shadow below it on the concrete.
Who would've thought it'd take a spider this long to make a web to catch someone who could fly?
Maybe he was giving spiders a bad name by not thinking of it sooner.
His spider-sense rang again, allowing him to flip out of the way of another blast of energy that cracked the concrete he was on.
Looking at her, Peter could tell she was at least out of breath right now, probably from using her quirk all day.
Him, though? He was downright exhausted .
"Will you stop dodging! You're like a hard-to-kill bug!" She yelled, Peter only laughed a bit at the unintentional pun. "Oh wait, I guess you kinda are."
She laughed a bit, shaking her head for a second to focus before diving down toward him.
What was that thing people did with bulls in Spain during the 21st century, again? It started to feel like that.
Peter stood his ground, crouching low to the ground and ignoring how his spider-sense rang.
Not yet…
Nejire was getting closer, his spider-sense getting louder.
Almost…
Even closer now while his spider-sense blared in his head, yelling at him to move.
Quickly, the blaring turned to a screaming inside his head, Peter grinned at that.
Now!
The teen backflipped, Nejire having been barely inches away from crashing into him at full speed.
As if in slow motion, Peter twisted in the air before kicking Nejire in the back as she flew, knocking her off-course.
And directly into his web.
The girl tumbled, getting more and more tangled in the net of webbing until she finally stopped her descent.
Even then, it wasn't like she could move her arms to aim her quirk and destroy the web.
Just as planned!
The crowd was silent for a moment, watching Nejire struggle against the webbing while using her quirk to fly away before she simply sighed and gave up.
"Nejire Hado is unable to move, making Peter Parker the winner of the first year stage of UA's sports festival!" Midnight announced with a crack of her whip, the crowd screaming as loud as they could.
Holy shit.
Peter's eyes went from the crowd to the stuck form of Nejire down at the arena.
Holy fucking shit.
He won.
He won!
A few laughs escaped him, Peter letting himself fall for a moment and take a breath.
He… he really won, didn't he?
Imagine if Ben could see him now.
Even if he wasn't here, Peter knew he made him proud today.
Wiping a few tears from his eyes, Peter laughed again before remembering Nejire was still stuck in his net.
Peter repelled down on a web, hanging upside down from his friend while grinning as the sweat poured down his face.
Or up, he guessed.
"Caught like a fly… on a web." He said between breaths, making the girl roll her eyes. "Get it? Cause you can fly and I made a- whatever, good fight!"
He flipped in the air and landed in a crouch, giving the girl the best smile his tired body could manage.
A moment passed before Nejire began laughing, trying at the webs a few more times.
"Hey, can you get me out of this so I can congratulate you?" She asked with a wry smile, looking away when he lifted his shirt to reach for the dissolvent in his belt.
Next thing he knew after he got Nejire out of the webs, they were hugging on live TV.
"Congrats! You were amazing out there, you know? Doesn't mean I don't wanna fight again." She said, Peter only laughed a bit before hugging back.
Right there, he realized something.
A year ago, he was a vigilante in the streets of Musutafu, living a double life while his only friends were other vigilantes.
And now?
People were chanting his name right now, he was hugging someone who he considered his best friend after winning that UA sports festival.
Sure, there was that whole thing with S.H.I.E.L.D and how some people still hated him, but to be honest?
He just didn't care right now, it felt like he was on top of the world
Peter Parker won the sports festival.
He… he could get used to this.
...
"I am here… with the medals!" All Might boomed, Peter watching the crowd go wild as the man landed in the stadium, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The guy sure did like his entrances.
Either way, it felt fitting that he's the one to give the medals out, you know?
It was finally time, the end of the sports festival. Peter Parker stood high on the first place podium, smiling as brightly as his tired body and mind would allow.
Kinda crazy how he was still standing, now that he thought about it.
All Might stepped up to the podium, Peter watching as he gave a third-place medal to both Kiryu and Reimei who had tied for third place, the man saying a few words and giving them a hug before moving on.
Nejire smiled at the silver medal around her neck, holding it in her hands as All Might stood before her.
"Young Hado, you have shown great use of your quirk and intelligence during this festival! I've even heard about how much you've trained to truly master your quirk, but remember that it does not mean you cannot improve further!" He laughed, everyone at the podium wincing at the volume.
"Sure thing, All Might! Next year, I'll win!"
Again, All Might laughed and gave the girl a short hug before moving on to Peter.
The boy couldn't help but chuckle at seeing himself in the reflection of the gold medal, All Might's figure casting a shadow over him.
Even so, Peter couldn't help but notice how the man's smile became a bit more forced when he stood before him.
"Young Parker! It was truly amazing watching your performance today, it is obvious you have a great future as a hero! I, for one, am glad you've risen above your past and are here today!" All Might told him, forcing out a laugh before hugging him.
Risen above his past? He had to be talking about his vigilante days, but why did he phrase it like that? Like it was some dark and evil part of his life or something?
"Uh… thanks, All Might." Peter laughed awkwardly, hugging the man back for a moment before he let go.
Whatever, it didn't matter.
He won the sports festival! He should try to enjoy it, right?
...
Fishing out the keys to his apartment, Peter's tired body unlocked the door to his dark, empty home.
The boy stepped into the quiet apartment, kicking off his shoes and taking off the medal from around his neck.
Man, what a day.
Just as he took a few more steps, he noticed the quiet buzzing at the back of his skull. It wasn't loud enough to be an immediate threat, more like alerting to someone's presence.
"With great power…" A voice spoke from the shadows, Peter could feel his blood turn cold as his eyes went wide. "Comes great responsibility."
Out of the shadows stepped a bald man, eyepatch over one of his eyes and a black coat over his similarly dark clothes. He radiated a presence of authority and respect.
"Great words by a great man, aren't they? I believe you are familiar with them, mister Parker." He said, hands behind his back as he stepped further into the living room.
Peter's body tensed as the man dug into his coat, pulling out a badge before showing it to him.
On it, was that same symbol from S.H.I.E.L.D that the card Tony Stark gave him had. He could feel his heart drop as his eyes stared at that symbol.
No way.
"Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D." The man said, pocketing his badge before smirking at him. "Nice to finally meet you, Spider-Man. It's time the two of us talked."
...
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