Previously, the Lizard had been broken out of holding at the ESU labs where a cure had been searched for the Lizard’s condition, all as part of a plot by the newly reformed Sinister Six to distract Spider-Man from a prison break. Having disappeared into the sewers, what was left of Curt Connor’s mind was then broken by Mephisto, sending the Lizard into an unstoppable rage.

The Lizard targeted a class of children preparing for a play, but fortunately for them, A.J. Michaels was there and was able to stop the Lizard from slaughtering the kids, but at the cost of his own life. By the time our web-slinging hero arrived, it was far too late for young A.J., as he had already succumbed to his wounds…

MY HERO

By Tobias Christopher

Ben Reilly’s cell phone rang for the twelfth time that morning, still going unanswered as Peter Parker paced furiously around his apartment. Once again, he got the voicemail.

“Ben, it’s Pete,” Peter said nervously. “Look, I know these past two days have been hell, but… the funeral’s this morning and it would mean a lot to everyone if you were there. Come on, man, pick up. Please.”

Peter sighed as he put down the phone before going to finish getting dressed. Beating up supervillains and saving the city from destruction on an almost daily basis? That was easy, he looked forward to that kind of thing. But today was a day when he had to bury a goof friend. These were the days that Peter Parker dreaded the most in life.

Ben Reilly’s cell phone sat on the nightstand, still untouched after two days. Its owner sat at the windowsill, staring out into the street, two day old stubble on his face as he sat there in a bathrobe and pajama pants, cursing the world for bringing him back from the beyond, but letting an innocent boy die so horribly.

“I can’t find my dress shoes,” Drew said as he searched the apartment. He had a brand new suit on, courtesy of Flash having bought him one the night before. “I can’t wear sneakers to my brother’s funeral.”

Those words tasted like sour milk on his taste buds. My brother’s funeral, the three words that Drew had never wanted to say as long as he lived. He paused for a moment as he tried to hold himself together. He’d been doing his best to stay strong for the past two days, but it was incredibly difficult knowing that his kid brother was being laid to rest in just a few hours.

“You can borrow a pair of mine if you need them,” Flash said as he sat at the table, trying not to focus on the events ahead. The old Flash in this situation would already be hitting the bottle, and hard. But Flash had been sober for a while now, and he still had the young man in the next room to provide for. “Did you ever get in contact with your step-dad?”

“No, but if he’s still in New York, he’s probably heard by now,” Drew told him as he headed to Flash’s bedroom and grabbed a pair of dress shoes from the closet. As he walked out of the bedroom, he saw his brother’s guitar sitting by the door, having been retrieved from the auditorium and returned to Drew. He sniffled a little bit, knowing A.J. would never be the rock star he dreamt of becoming now.

“Aunt May, you don’t need to go through all of this trouble,” Peter said as he watched his Aunt furiously going through the kitchen, cooking everything she could. May was utilizing every pot, pan, dish, appliance, burner, and general cooking instrument at her disposal to prepared a large feast.

“Peter, a young man has passed away, and there are going to be people at his funeral who need to be fed,” May told him as she stirred some sauce. “We are going to be celebrating A.J.’s life, not his passing, and for that we’re going to need food, and lots of it. Now, be a dear and check on the cookies in the oven. And DON’T eat any of them, those are for after we get home from the cemetary.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Peter said as he put on the oven mitt shaped like the Infinity Gauntlet, a Christmas gift from Iron Man. May was grieving in her own way, just like the rest of them. It was the same thing when Uncle Ben died. Everyone at Ben’s funeral had put on a good five pounds each that day. “Say, what ever happened to Rhett?”

“He moved out a few days ago,” May told him. “He left a note saying he was going to try to patch things up with his father, and took his belongings while I was out. I do wish he’d call to check up on things, he was a fine young man.”

Peter said nothing as he pulled the cookies from the oven. He was no fan of Rhett Carson, but he couldn’t help but wonder what had become of the young man his aunt had so kindly taken in.

Rhett Carson woke up on the cold cement floor of a cell deep underground. Looking down, he found he had been stripped naked, with a shock collar around his neck as he sat up, his whole body in pain. He saw a water bottle not too far away and frantically opened it, drinking it all down. He tossed the bottle away as he breathed heavily, trying to figure out where he was.

“Hello?” Rhett asked in a raspy voice as he tried to stand up by pulling himself up to the bars of the cell. “Hello?”

As he looked around, he thought his surroundings looked awfully familiar. It wasn’t the Goblin Den he had been used to using, but it was a Goblin Den, only much larger, and more advanced. He looked around and saw a much more menacing Hobgoblin costume in a glass case, sitting next to Rhett’s crumpled one laying on a table next to it.

“You’re stronger than I thought,” a voice said as Rhett tried to adjust his eyes to the light.

“Kingsley?” Rhett whispered, his mouth still dry.

“Wrong goblin, chump,” the man said as he kept his face hidden. “Let’s just say that Kingsley’s not very happy with you at the moment. But since he has bigger fish to fry, he’s left me to play with you for a while.”

“Just kill me if that’s what you’re planning, I don’t care anymore,” Rhett said in defeat.

“Kill you?” the man laughed. “If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dismembered and spread around the greater part of New York. No, no, no, my dear boy. I have much grander plans for you.”

The man started laughing, scaring Rhett more by the second.

Everyone started arriving at the church for A.J.’s funeral, including schoolmates, teachers, and various others around the neighborhood who knew the young man. Peter saw Drew and hugged him.

“You look like hell,” Drew said.

“So do you,” Peter replied as he rubbed his son’s back. “I’d be worried if you didn’t. You’re gonna get through this.”

“Am I?” Drew asked as he pulled away. “I’m burying my baby brother. How do I survive losing my last family member?”

Peter had no answer for that. How could he tell Drew that his father was standing right in front of him?

Tommy walked into the church and saw A.J. laying in the casket at the front. He slowly approached, hoping this was just a cruel, cruel joke. One that would end with A.J. opening his eyes and sitting up, telling Tommy it was just a prank. Then Tommy would punch him, and pull him into a kiss to let him know he forgave him.

As he got up to the casket, he stared down into the cold, pale face of the young man he’d come to have feelings for.

“This is a bad dream,” Tommy said as he touched A.J.’s hand. “We were just starting to know each other. You can’t leave me now, A.J. You’re all I have.”

Everyone started to take their seats, with Flash, Peter, and May sitting in the front with Drew, who kept looking over his shoulder to see if his step-father would show up.

“Do you think he’s going to show?” Peter asked as he leaned over to Flash.

“I hope not,” Flash replied as he whispered back. “What kind of man abandons his sons?”

“Just focus on Drew,” Peter said as he looked over, seeing May holding drew’s hand. “The last thing we need are any huge surprises popping up.”

John F. Kennedy International Airport

The former resident of the city of New York patiently waited for her bags to come around on the carousel. She was there for several reasons, the biggest of which was to reconnect with a former flame and surprise the biggest surprise of his life onto him.

Every man, some of the women, at the terminal watched the woman as she walked toward the front desk to make sure her rental car was ready.

“Are you here for business or pleasure?” the man behind the counter asked as he  handed her the keys.

“Both,” she smiled as she took the keys, before speeding off minutes later in her cherry red rental car, ready to give Peter Parker the shock of his life.

Ben had entered the church, just as the service had begun. He took a seat in the backrow where no one could see him, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He was wearing a suit, but was still unshaven and hadn’t slept a wink since he received the phone call about A.J.’s death two days ago.

After the priest had spoken, the chance was given to several of A.J.’s friends and families to come up talk about him. Both Peter and Flash had given eulogies about their student, telling everyone know how proud they were to have him at their school. Peter went on to tell the world how trustworthy the boy was, secretly telling himself that Spider-Man couldn’t have asked for a better secret keeper. Then came Drew’s turn to speak.

“Alan James Michaels was my baby brother,” Drew said as he fought back the tears. “We weren’t blood related, but that never mattered to me. The first time I saw him when we became a family, I swore that we’d always be brothers. I always told him that no matter what happened, I’d be there for him. We always got through everything together. No matter what life tossed at him, he always had a positive attitude. He never gave up, even when the odds were stacked against him. He was my hero,” Drew said as he looked back at the coffin. “I love you, A.J. No matter where you are, you’re always going to be my baby brother.”

Drew could no longer fight back the tears as Flash ran up to help him, hugging him tightly. Peter tried to fight back the feelings of jealousy. That should have been him up there, helping Drew as he was breaking down. On the other hand, he was glad that someone like Flash was there for him.

Peter sensed Ben was in the church, looking over his shoulder and seeing him sitting in the very back, looking just as sullen as the rest of them.

The rain was falling at the cemetary as the young man was laid to rest in the ground. Peter was holding the umbrella over Aunt May as he tuned out the Priest’s final words as the coffin was had arrived at the bottom of the hole.

“Pete, we’re going to skip coming over,” Flash told his friend. “I’m just going to take Drew home, I don’t think he wants to be around anyone anymore than he has to be today. You understand, right?”

“Yeah, more than you know,” Peter told him, thinking of when Uncle Ben had died. He just wanted to stay in his room and not face the world for a good long while. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“I will,” Flash promised as he patted Peter’s shoulder.

As the ceremony concluded and people started walking away, Peter sought out Ben as quickly as he could, who was getting close to his motorcycle.

“Do you want to talk?” Peter asked as he left Aunt May with the umbrella as he got closer to his cloned twin.

“No,” Ben said as he got onto the bike. Peter stood in front of it and looked into Ben’s eyes. “Don’t do this, Pete.”

“Do what? Worry about you? You’ve been avoiding me since this happened, ” Peter told him. “Don’t bottle this up, bro. It’s going to come out in-“

“I loved him!” Ben shouted, his voice shaking. “I mean, not in the gay love kind of way, but… how can I explain it? Ever since I came back from the dead, I’ve felt detached and alone.  No matter how many people I surrounded myself with, I felt like I had no one. Then you introduced me to A.J. and… it finally felt like I had someone I could talk to, bond with. It finally felt like there was someone in this world that got me. That I should share things with and he wouldn’t judge me. And now he’s gone, and I’m still here! How is that fair, Peter? How is it fair that after all the horrible shit that all of us have pulled in our lives, that he’s the one who has to suffer? How is it fair that he doesn’t get to live his life, and grow older, and marry and start a family? That innocent kid is dead and I’d give anything to switch places with him just so he can have a chance.”

“I had no idea you were so close to him,” Peter told him. “I wish there was a way to bring him back, too, but… you know what happens when that kind of wish is granted. There are consequences, Ben. Bad ones for people who get second chances the way you’re asking. The best thing to do is just let A.J. rest in peace. He’s not in pain anymore.”

“Yeah, well the rest of us are,” Ben reminded him. “That’s why… I have to get out of this town for a while. I’ve settled down too long, first when I was with the Defenders, and then when I tried to get close to you and Aunt May. We’re the same person DNA wise, but I’m not the kind of guy who can stay in one place for too long, Pete. Losing A.J. is a bitter reminder why I have to move on.”

“Are you going to say goodbye to Aunt May?” Peter asked.

“When I come to get my stuff later tonight,” Ben told him. “But I’m leaving town after that.”

“Then at least keep in touch, let me know you’re okay,” Peter said as he sighed and got out of the way. “I’m going to miss having you around.”

“We’ll meet again, I promise,” Ben said as he started his bike and started riding off. “Take care, brother.”

Drew was laying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling after he’d returned hom from the cemetary. He never wanted to get off of that couch again, or see or talk to anyone. He just wanted to die right there.

Flash was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to think about what he was going to do now while he looked through the mail. He found a large envelope and opened it, seeing the adoption papers in it for A.J. an Drew, signed by A.J.’s father several days ago. He’d had his lawyer track down the man and convince him that the boys needed a man in their life to raise them, and the man signed away his rights without any further thought.

Flash put the paper down, staring over at Drew. He’d tell him that he was now Drew’s legal guardian in a few days when things had settled down. Then of course, he still had to tell Drew about his deal with Mephisto…

“You just rest, Aunt May, let me take care of the dishes,” Peter told her as helped Aunt May to the couch later that evening after everyone had left. Aunt May was right, being around other people while talking and eating had made everyone in attendance feel a bit better. A.J. was gone, but everyone was going to move on and remember the young man they’d buried.

As Peter washed the dishes, he heard the doorbell ringing. It was pretty late in the evening and everyone had gone home a while ago. He wondered who was at the door and dried his hands, heading to the living room. Peter hoped that whoever was at the door was brining good news, he could use it.

Peter opened the door and got the shock of his life.

“Hello, Tiger,” Mary Jane said as she stood in the doorway, holding her hand on her six-month pregnant stomach. “Surprise.”

To be continued…