Calm Wanderer
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(MNIBP) Chapter 2 - Is this the end of the road for me? (Part 2)
🕑 Added 2023-06-26 09:58:13 +0000 UTCNew York City, 2012.
Ben Parker's P.O.V.
As their respective gazes reached the window facing in the direction of Manhattan, they could see what seemed like an enormous blue portal above the island. Lifting May back to the couch, he then started to think quickly. “It looks like it's above the Stark tower. Do you think it's that Tony Stark making a scene again?” He heard her question and did not even think for a second before answering.
“No. Even he has limits. It's definitely something else.” Having been a team captain in the special forces, he was privy to some confidential information, such as the existence of SHIELD and that Earth was not as 'normal' as it seemed. Thus, he did not want to take any risks.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, he promptly tried to call Peter. While he was waiting for his nephew to answer, he saw some things getting out of the portal. At first, those were human-sized flying 'things'. He could not make them out clearly, as he was too far. However, when those colossal worm-like monsters came out, his pupils started to dilate with fear, before getting back to an abnormal calmness almost right after, his face losing any semblance of emotion.
“B-Ben, Wha-what are those?” May asked with terror lacing her voice. Reaching the almost emotionless state he was known for in his former circle, the 'Machine Parker' put his hand on her shoulder and said in a calm voice. “Everything's gonna be okay, May. I'm on it.”
Despite the horror of the situation, the mature woman relaxed a little, nodded, and asked him. “Yes! What should I do?” She knew that he was the professional here, and she did not want to risk wasting their time. “Wait! The kids are over th...” She was interrupted by his finger on her mouth.
“You need to be calm May. I told you I'll handle the situation. What you need to do now is to get your bag and your car keys. Then, go to Madeline's house to get her and Gayle. Then you take the car and drive towards the south. As for the kids, I'll go get them. Do you understand?”
Despite her shaking slightly from dread, she nodded. “Go now!” He said, pushing her towards her handbag. Not wasting any time, Ben then went to their bedroom and knelt down to grab the case under his bed, which contained a few weapons and a bulletproof vest. After putting on the latter, he wore a special set of holsters, where he inserted two handguns at his hips, a customized backpack on his back to hold the cartridges and provide easy access to switch them out, and a semi-automatic rifle in case he needed some heavier fire.
While prepping, he finally succeeded in reaching Peter, after a few unsuccessful times. “UNCLE BEN!! THE-THERE ARE ALIENS MONSTERS IN THE SKY!! THEY'RE FIRING EVERYWHERE!! WHAT DO WE DO?” Hearing the panicked voice of Peter yelling at his phone and those from the other two kids in the background, he nonetheless felt relieved, as it meant that they were unhurt. At least temporarily.
'Let's keep it that way.' He thought.
Thinking quickly of a plan, he cut off his nephew's almost incoherent ramblings. “PETER! Calm down! It's gonna be fine. You need to trust and listen to me. Are we clear, son?” Using his natural charisma and an authoritative tone, the young teenager started to rein in his emotions and answered.
“Yes, sir!” “Good! Now, put on your wireless earbuds, so that your hands won't be hindered. Always stay on the phone and let me know when it's done.” Following the instruction he gave to his nephew himself, Ben put on his earbuds and started to jog down the stairs toward the garage.
“It's done, Uncle Ben! What do we do now?” Nodding to himself at how Peter seemed a lot calmer, probably thanks to his unconditional trust towards that uncle of his and his always on-point instructions. “Perfect! First, the three of you need to stick together. Do not follow the crowd. You would make too big of a target. And you might get hurt if there's a movement of panic.”
As he started to explain the plan he came up with to Peter, he swiftly opened the garage front door, put on his open-face helmet, put the key into the ignition, and turned on the motorcycle before taking off quickly towards the Kennedy bridges, as the southern bridges were probably packed with people fleeing from those flying invaders. The Kennedy Bridges were further from the blue portal than the Southern ones, which made them a better way for crossing the East River to Manhattan. It was safer and probably less congested.
“Now son, you should take MJ and Ned and leave the Museum. Once you are at the entrance, go towards the Kennedy bridges. But remember to always stay under the tree covers inside the park. Do not walk on the open road. I repeat: Do not. Walk. On the open road! Is that clear?”
“YES SIR!” He almost screamed, his nerves probably messing up with his mind. Which reminded Ben of something essential. “Peter! Keep your voice low. Although there's not much risk with the explosions' noise, you still need to be discreet for God's sake!” “So-sorry, I di-didn't mean to yell...”
Sighing slightly in frustration, Ben cursed inwardly at how frustratingly hard it was to guide three 11 years old to safety through a phone, and all that during an attack of flying beings in a huge city of millions. Noticing his mind slipping to some useless considerations, he pulled back his focus on the present.
Which made him reply. “It's okay, Peter. Just don't do it again. And tell the other two the same thing. Discretion and swiftness are extremely important now. Let me know once you're all outside.” After less than a minute, which Ben spent focusing on avoiding cars and fleeing pedestrians while breaking the speed limit by more than a reasonable amount, the boy resumed talking.
“Uncle Ben, we're outside. Sh-should we go now?” “Yes, go now. Do not run too fast or you will exhaust yourself too quickly. Try to jog and if you can't, then walk quickly.” Pausing for a second, he thought it was best to repeat his earlier instruction. “Remember, stay inside Central Park and follow the trails on the east side of the Park. Once you're at the end, tell me. You also need to tell me if there is a situation where you don't know what to do. But you should talk softly.”
As the three children listened to his instructions, Ben started to get closer and closer to his target, which was the bridge appearing in his sight, its tremendous size being a dead giveaway. A few minutes of crazy driving later, Parker noticed the congested bridge's entrance, a huge number of stationary cars blocking it. “Fuck me...” He whispered under his breath, before pondering quickly to find an alternative.
Spotting the less crowded pedestrian path on the side, he made a bold decision while thinking. 'No choice, I guess.' Thus, he drove quickly towards it, taking one of his handguns out as soon as he arrived at the entrance and firing it once in the air, yelling. “GET THE FUCK OUT MY WAY OR I'LL FUCKING SHOOT YOU DEAD!”
He knew perfectly well that he would not make good on his threat. The people blocking his path were not aware of that particular fact though. That, coupled with his scary attire full of weapons, forced them to move to the side to let him pass. Despite having to fire in the air a few times along the way, he did not waste too much time in the end. Thus, less than five minutes of driving around saw him arrive at the second bridge, the one connecting to Harlem.
Unlike his calm exterior, he knew that the more time taken to arrive at his nephew's location, the higher the risk for his well-being, and thus had a harder time not letting his emotions take control of his actions. After all, a random person's life was not the same as a loved one's life.
Thankfully, after making punctual inquiries, he felt better knowing that the children had almost reached the northern end of Central Park. Besides, most of the monsters seemed to be held up by some unknown beings on the human side. The deafening sound from their battles, which reached him despite the distance, made clear to him that those same beings were not what one could call 'normal humans'. He was not even sure if they were humans at all. Not that it mattered to him.
'Are they those rumored 'Special Beings' the SHIELD guy told me about in the past?... Forget it! Even if I knew about it, it wouldn't help me save the kids.' Once again taking the pedestrian path, only a scant few minutes went by before he reached the other side.
And good news always came in pair as Peter signaled him that the three arrived close to Duke Ellington's split square. “Un*Gasp*Uncle Ben, we*Gasp*we're there. What do *Gasp* we do now?” Ben could hear Peter panting, trying to catch his breath. “You did well, son. Now, look around you and tell me what you see. Do not move from the Park and hide yourself as well as you can.”
While giving instructions, he accelerated through 125th Street, throwing only a fleeting gaze at the many people panicking all over. Annoyingly, the road was littered with abandoned cars, turning the normally straightforward path into a confusing labyrinth. Thankfully for Ben, the middle lane was large enough to go through with his bike, with only a few cars blocking it here and there, forcing him to drive around them.
However, his focus was almost broken when he heard his nephew whispering. “Uncle Ben, they're here...” Hurriedly, the man questioned, hoping desperately that his guess was wrong. “What do you mean they're here?” Yet, the increasingly loud sound of explosions, coupled with Peter's reply, ruthlessly shattered that hope before it even had time to grow.
“The monsters. They are flying all around Central Park. They are... They're killing people... There is so much blood... I-I'm scared, Uncle Ben.” Catching the last sentence that was near unintelligible as a result of the child's crippling fear, Ben's grip on the handles tightened in anger, while his eyes narrowed slightly. He was angry at those monsters for killing innocents and threatening his nephew's life, angry at the government for failing to protect its citizens, but mostly angry at himself for not staying with the kids, simply because he was too lazy to go through a simple fucking visit at the museum...
Thankfully, his training and experience that he acquired through literal tears and blood kicked in, naturally pushing him to rein in his emotions, turning them into cold focus. Looking around to locate himself, he spotted Park Avenue rapidly appearing on his left. Turning the handlebar sharply to the left while using the brakes caused the bike to begin drifting in that direction. Once he was in the optimal position, he let go of the brakes and went full throttle, the motorcycle almost lifting off the ground. A few fleeing passersby were even distracted by the beauty of the maneuver for a few seconds before they resumed running away, yelling fruitlessly for someone to save them.
While the man was driving through the damaged Avenue, he continued. “It's normal to be scared, with what's going on, Peter.” His confident and calm tone of voice assuaging the boy's fear. “Fear is good as long as you don't let it take over.” While he was talking, he noticed one of those flying devices with three alien monsters riding it coming toward him. Simultaneously, those ruthless grey beings were firing indiscriminately at the fleeing crowd with their energy weapons, creating an apocalyptic picture of blood and death all around the damaged Avenue.
“You need to use your fear to make you stronger, faster, and more efficient.” As the word efficient barely left his lips, his left hand left the handlebar to grab one of his two handguns from his left side holster. Once in hand, he took two seconds to aim, noting every outside element susceptible to affect his shots, before firing a few rounds from his firearm, resulting in three corpses from body shots, the three aliens crashing down with their vehicle. Fortunately, the recoil was not too bad thanks to his personal modification, which meant the influence on his aim was minimal.
Putting his weapon back in his holster and his hand on his bike's left handle, he carried on through the long avenue. “Keep in mind that what makes you truly strong is not your physical power, but your determination. And you, Peter Ben Parker, are a very brave and determined young man who saved his two best friends' lives.”
From the phone came a slight sobbing noise with Peter's cracking voice. “Y-Yes, Sir!”
Despite a few 'alien encounters' which ended up with some new corpses embracing New York's asphalt and his backpack containing his reserve of cartridges becoming lighter and lighter, it took him less than two minutes to reach the Tito Puente Way. From there it was a straight road, with only two blocks separating him from the Statue of Duke Ellington and Central Park behind it, where the three children were told to remain until he arrived.
