Chapter 39: Scorched Aftermath II
"Peter wants to help people just like his uncle would have wanted, and from what the principal told me, he did just that.
Being a hero is a dangerous job, no matter how much I wish it wasn't, but that's what Peter wants to do in his life; holding you accountable for him getting hurt while helping others isn't what he'd want, so I won't."
...
Woah.
That was probably one of the most profound things he's ever heard.
Man, he's forgotten how wise May was since they've been apart so long.
Suddenly, his aunt gained a look of pure disdain in her eyes, looking over Peter's injuries once more before meeting Aizawa's eyes.
"Endeavor is the only one I hold responsible for what happened today, that man nearly and wrongfully killed my nephew and-" Her hands were balled in shaking fists, Peter putting a hand on her shoulder as to calm her. "I just hope he faces consequences."
Wait, what was gonna happen with Endeavor?
It's not like they could sue him since they didn't have enough money for that, so taking legal action directly was out of the question.
The guy had to be facing at least a bit of backlash, right?
I mean, he attacked a teenager only because he used to be a vigilante! Tha-
Hold up.
If Endeavor made a statement about his reasonings, then he'd definitely talk about how Spider-Man was attending UA!
As far as he knew, the public didn't know that yet, if anything UA would be facing backlash!
"Uh, Aizawa?" Both adults in the room turn to face him. "If Endeavor makes a statement, wouldn't he reveal to the public about how Spider-Man was attending UA? I-I don't wanna bring you guys bad press or anything."
Peter didn't want UA to get trashed just because he was going there and because of his past, that'd just be unfair to both of them.
They have given him a second opportunity to help people the right way, and for them to get trashed because of him?
That just wasn't right.
"That was already taken care of an hour after you arrived at the hospital," Aizawa said, grabbing a remote from a nearby table and turning on a TV hanging on the wall.
After changing a few channels, the TV displayed Nezu holding some sort of press conference in front of UA while camera flashes went off in front of him, the animal simply showing a polite smile and standing behind a podium with paws behind his back.
When looking beside him, Peter nearly busted out laughing when spotting Aizawa, wearing a full suit with his hair tied into a neat ponytail.
They probably forced him to not look like a hobo, now that he thought about it.
'Thank you all for coming to our press conference, we will be discussing today's events of the number 2 hero, Endeavor, wrongfully attacking and nearly killing one of our first-year hero course students.' Nezu began, calling in a reporter with the head of a blue gecko with his hand raised.
'Nezu, reports say that Endeavor attacked this student due to him believing that he was the vigilante known as Spider-Man and that he was working with the villains conducting the heist, is it true that Spider-Man attends UA?'
Not missing a beat, Nezu simply smiled and nodded his head.
'While we will not disclose his identity, given he is underage, we will confirm that he does attend our 1st-year hero course as a deal made with both us and the police to make up for his crimes of vigilantism and to get the charges dropped.'
Just like that, Peter watched as every single reporter presented erupted out of their seats, demanding answers to each of their individual questions.
"You… didn't tell them who I was?" Peter asked Aizawa, the man only shaking his head.
"You're a minor, we aren't legally allowed to do so without your permission, and I doubt it's in your best interest to announce to the world who you are right now."
Peter could only sigh in relief that his identity was still intact and mutter out a thank you.
He didn't want to deal with all of that anytime soon.
Just the idea of being recognized as Spider-Man while walking down the street made him uncomfortable, you know?
A few moments passed before Nezu called on another reporter, this one simply having a high ponytail.
'Nezu, do you truly believe that this former vigilante should be given a second chance? I d-'
Before she could even finish her question, the white-furred animal quickly cut her off without even dropping the polite smile he had.
'He was and still is a young man in need of guidance who wants to help people, and we at UA pride ourselves in giving that guidance to aspiring heroes of all backgrounds. I myself believe he did less harm than he did good, with most dismissing his good deeds on the simple basis of the circumstances they were done.'
His heart warmed at someone defending him, the only times anyone ever defended Spider-Man was in the occasional online forums that talked about him from time to time.
It… felt nice, you know?
Having someone believe that what he does is good was probably the most he could ask for.
Seemingly not done, Nezu placed both paws on the podium and continued his statement.
'Not only that, but he along with his three other classmates that were at the museum during the heist helped their teacher apprehend villains and rescue civilians, most likely preventing many injuries.' The conference was silent for a moment bar the sound of camera flashes before people collectively started to ask questions again.
Nezu decided to call on a woman with red lines going across her face that contrasted her sky blue hair.
'Excuse me, but how will you respond to Endeavor? He has been unavailable for comment ever since the incident, so we would like to see what you have to say about him.' Peter almost missed it, but he clearly saw Nezu's eye twitch for a split second, making the scar going down it scrunch up for a moment.
Clearing his throat, Nezu waited for the room to fall into relative silence before speaking.
Even through the screen, Peter could still feel Nezu's disdain that was hidden behind those beady eyes and polite smile.
'I, along with UA's teaching staff, are deeply disappointed and incredibly disgusted that one of our former alumni could have been involved in an incident in which he would nearly kill a 15-year-old. We will not be accepting recommendations for students from him from this point on, and I would like to offer my apologies to the family of the student he attacked; thank you for coming today.'
With that, both Nezu and Aizawa bowed and walked off, reporters all around then exploded with questions when Nezu mentioned his age before the cameras were cut and the screen went black.
Peter looked at his election on the black TV screen before finally breaking his silence.
"Just like that? You guys didn't face backlash or anything because of me?"
Aizawa looked at him for a moment before shrugging lazily.
"Nezu deliberately scheduled the press conference and wrote the statement as to change the public's opinion on your past actions. No one in their right minds would side against a kid that was nearly and wrongfully killed by the number 2 hero."
What?
Did Nezu… manipulate the public so they would side with UA against Endeavor?
"Seriously?" Peter asked with an incredulous look in his eyes, only getting a lazy nod and a sympathetic smile from his aunt.
Woah.
Nezu was freaking scary
"Alright, I…" Peter began, running a bandaged hand through his face as he looked for the words. "Thanks for figuring out the whole thing, but could you guys give me like 5 minutes by myself? I need to make a call."
The two adults in the room nodded, May giving him one last hug before she and Aizawa left Peter alone in his hospital.
Sighing, Peter grabbed his phone that was next to him on a small table, dialing a number and closing his eyes.
The line ringed twice before the boy heard a voice on the other end, Peter ran a hand through his hard and sighed again.
"Hey, Jonah? I need to tell you something important."
...
Mindlessly switching through random channels, Peter groaned before finally dropping the remote onto his bed.
Who knew hospitals would be so boring?
Endeavor had yet to make any type of comment about the fight at the museum, but that still didn't stop the public from talking about it.
If you were to look on Twitter, you would see how Spider-Man has taken up the first 13 trending spots, all of them having different opinions on the matter.
Most people have been using the term 'Hero or Menace' for the whole thing, Peter couldn't help but find it ironic.
I mean, he did just spend an hour convincing Jonah to let him keep his job at the Bugle.
The guy had softened up on Spider-Man when Peter told him why he did what he did; Even if he seemed like a… dick most of the time, the guy wasn't that bad of a person.
Opinions were split 80/20 for and against him, with people defending him given his age and how he was 'turning over a new leaf' while supports of Endeavor had criticized him for 'resisting arrest' and 'not explaining himself to him'
Well, that was until the video of the fight got out.
Now, at first, Peter had assumed this whole thing would just be two different people saying two different things with not much prove against each other, you know?
So imagine his face when someone has apparently leaked a video of inside the museum.
And then imagine his face again when that person turned out to be the girl he saved from the shocker guy.
Talk about convenient, huh?
Yeah, when people saw how things had actually gone down inside the museum, with Peter attempting to explain himself and only getting burnt in return, opinions changed a lot more.
As in, it was now 95/5 for and against him.
Still, Endeavor still had his supporters for whatever reason but the general consensus was that he was in the wrong for, you know.
Nearly killing him and all of that stuff.
Peter guessed the only people actually siding what Endeavor on this were doing it solely for the fact that the guy was the number 2 hero.
Believe it or not, there were a bunch of people out there who legitimately thought the top heroes could do no wrong!
It was… scary to see people actually thinking that.
Even then, it made him uncomfortable seeing people analyze the video as if it was some celebrity drama instead of him fighting for his life.
But that was the hero world, you know?
Gave him all the more reason to keep his regular life private when he got a license.
Letting himself fall back onto the bed, Peter continued to aimlessly scroll through random news feeds.
Looked like the heist had taken a backseat to the fight when it came to public attention.
Peter didn't like that.
Crap, he forgot to tell Aizawa about the big man!
Damn it, he'd have to do it tomorrow.
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