Chapter Three: Settling In
"That was an excellent supper, Mrs. Brown.'' Ben complimented as he finished the last of his serving. Although he could say he still loved Aunt May's traditional pot roast the most, Mrs. Brown was not really traditional. Ben didn't know everything that was inside the meal he tasted a hint of the ranch and found banana peppers inside.
''Why thank you, Ben. And please call me Hannah, if you don't mind. Mrs. Brown makes me sound like a mature old woman. Something I have seldom been accused of.'' She said merrily as she sipped her tea. She was right, Mrs. Brown was probably in her forties but had the body of a much spryer woman maybe ten years younger.
Her husband chuckled. "Mother always told me to watch out for those wild city girls so... I searched for one." Mr. Brown chuckled, "It took a while but I finally found one." He looked at Ben appraisingly as the young man collecting his plate and silverware and took them to the sink and began washing it by hand.
''Someone did a good job raising you Ben.'' The older man commented. Ben blushed, because if it was true and he was a clone then he hadn't been raised at all. "Now let's get you set up for the night." Mr. Brown finished
"Uh...'' Surprised Ben didn't really know what to think. Having dinner with them was one thing but sleeping overnight seemed like he was taking advantage. Although it was better than staying on the street it still made him feel uncomfortable.
William put up a hand to forestall the young man's protest. "Where were you planning on sleeping son? Under an overpass or in some abandoned building? Use your head, if you stayed in somewhere as that anything could happen to you. You might go to sleep and never wake back up again."
Ben paused and then reluctantly nodded. He really didn't want to presume on these peoples' hospitality but Mr. Brown had a good point... Especially as another rainstorm was moving into the area. It was currently pouring outside and frankly going out there when he had a choice was just dumb.
"All right, but at least I can do some chores while I'm here." Ben compromised. He might not have been actually raised by his aunt and uncle, but he shuttered to think about what they would think if he'd done anything less after accepting their generosity.
"Fair enough Ben. You know if you are going to stay in Bayville we need to find you a better job than digging ditches and you'll probably appreciate some space of your own... So what does Ben Reilly do for a living...?"
Ben just smiled in response.
Several Days Later
It was official. Someone could out-flash Flash Thompson. Ben hadn't really believed it was possible, but on Sunday Mr. Brown decided since Ben couldn't currently afford an apartment they would put Ben up for a few days in their attic. Since Mr. Brown's son technically lived with them still, they didn't really have a spare room in the main part of the house for Ben to stay in. He honestly wouldn't feel right staying in someone else's bed.
Their attic was mainly used for storage so it wouldn't be much hassle to keep Ben there until he could get his own place. The only problem was it was packed full of boxes. Mr. and Mrs. Brown didn't mind moving some of their stuff to an actual storage unit. So the only problem was the process of clearing it out. Mr. Brown decided to call his nephew, Mr. Williams' son 'Duncan'.
It was that day when he met Duncan Matthews. Or what he had secretly started calling him 'Douche-can'. Yes, it was a childish name, not some of his best material... but it really fit him so well. He couldn't help it the guy was a total tool, even Mr. Brown didn't really like his nephew, and the guy was a total saint. If Mr. Williams actually thought Ben and Duncan could actually get along he was either in complete denial or had no clue who his son actually was. He tolerated Douche-can for a while but the guy's comments started to get on his nerves as time went on.
"So you're like homeless, right?" Was the first comment he didn't really care for, but although it was said without tact he guessed it wasn't too far outside of the norm of questions.
He started to get a little frustrated after Duncan was there for about thirty minutes and his second comment took him by surprise. "First you take advantage of my father for a ride to town, now you are burdening my uncle by staying here?" Duncan didn't know his story or what he had been though up until this moment and he had quickly passed judgment on him. But he let it slide, in a way he was taking advantage. Mr. Brown hadn't taken no for an answer when he declined and winded up staying, but it was temporary and not really Duncan's place to say anything.
"How long has it been since you've taken a bath?" That last one Ben had taken actual offense towards, he had taken a shower that morning and had been moving boxes all day. If there was an odor (which he doubted) it was from a hard day's work.
Luckily, Mr. Brown convinced him to go home after about two hours. Rescuing him from another story about how Duncan had saved the day when he threw the winning touch-down. Afterward Ben felt the need to throw up his lunch, the guy was just too much.
"Thanks' for everything Mr. Brown," Ben said in appreciation.
"You're welcome Ben," He smiled. "Besides... Having you here almost makes us feel like Thomas is back. Now make the most of it and remember that Hannah expects you to come for supper on most days. And I'll tell you with plenty of experience that I would rather be in a bar fight with a squad of drunk marines than to disappoint that woman. The former is also a healthier occupation too.''
"Don't worry. I'll be there."
"I'm not worried Ben. It's your hide she'll skin if you're late."
They both laughed at that knowing he was probably right.
''Oh! One more thing... Hannah says she'll let you have that old singer sewing machine of hers if you can get it running."
"Thank you, Mr. Brown."
"Call me Will, Ben.'' He clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "Just remember... Wherever you came from... whatever is in your past son. You have friends and a home in this town now.''
---
Outside, Seward waited and watched with interest. He just hoped that his employer would be satisfied with just the notes and comings and goings. He didn't want to interfere in this young man's life any more than he could help and at any rate, it seemed as if his original plan to befriend the wandering clone was in the trash heap now. He still hoped to make contact later. He just hoped Bayville stayed quiet. Otherwise, it could get dangerous for him very quickly...
---
At first, when leaving New York, Reilly had really thought that maybe he would put aside the hero business. He wanted his own life now; not just to be a repeat Parker's life, just in a new town... But William Brown had shown him just how important it was. That, someone, had to care. Someone had to make a difference and even if it wasn't the same words as Ben Parker had spoken "with great power comes, great responsibility", it was in essence just the same. So as he looked around at the little attic bedroom he had to smile in satisfaction. He looked over the chemistry set he'd managed to purchase today, he realized that there was only one other matter he had to manage.
Ben Reilly couldn't be 'Spider-man' just like he couldn't go around as Peter Parker, but it was also true that there was no escaping the fact that both Peter Parker and Ben Reilly had the same abilities. Although his tools would still the ones invented by the original Parker years ago, he didn't need to have the same look. The Singer sewing machine would come in handy for the suit he had to recreate and as for the gadgets... Well, perhaps he just might have an idea or two for making them better. It would be nice to have a trick or two good ol' Pete hadn't thought of just yet... But first, he had to start to get that machine to work!