Sighing with relief, he injected himself with the regenerative serum, and soon the stabbing pains throughout his body began to subside.
He was currently sitting on one of the beds in the medical wing, and behind him, with incredible speed and precision, Baymax was removing the glass fragments from his back.
"The treatment has ended. I recommend that you remain in a calm environment without going on patrol for the next three days in order to achieve a stable physical and mental state," Baymax said.
"Thank you, Baymax," he replied, sighing as he no longer felt the fragments lodged in his back.
"It was my pleasure, sir. I cannot deactivate until you say, 'I am satisfied with my care.'"
"I am satisfied with my care."
He watched as Baymax returned to his charging bay.
Getting up from the medical bed, he finished removing his suit and walked half-naked to the shower area.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, he could see the scars covering his body.
A side effect of the serum was that it healed him extremely quickly, but it left scars because he had higher-than-average blood pressure, one of the factors that contributed to poor healing.
Adding the regenerative serum only made it worse, especially in combination with the other serums already in his body.
Stepping into the shower, he traced the scars he knew by memory.
The two circular scars on his abdomen, where both Eel and that idiot Johnny had impaled him.
A longer scar stretching from his right shoulder to his sixth left rib, inflicted by Colleen during one of their training sessions, the most serious scar on his body.
Then there were one or two smaller scars scattered across his body, all the result of training with both Colleen and the Cogman-Wick.
He let out a sigh of relief once he stepped out of the shower and began changing into the clothes one of the robots had left for him.
When he was ready, he closed his eyes for a few seconds and mentally prepared himself.
Once ready, he walked to the elevator and rode it upstairs.
"FATHER!"
Caesar, Selina, and Itsy all shouted before jumping into his arms at once. Somehow, he managed to catch all three of them.
After setting them back down, he ruffled their hair and saw May approaching, dried tear tracks still visible on her face.
Slap.
"I deserve that."
Slap.
"That one too," he said after Susan slapped him this time.
"No, no, no. Do not touch those," he said, stopping a punch from Yuri that was aimed at his crotch.
He looked toward Cortana and Missy, expecting a slap from them as well, knowing what they must have witnessed: going from one fight, to holding up a collapsing building rigged with explosives, then into another fight, and finally saving people on a bridge.
It must have been quite the emotional roller coaster.
Instead, both of them simply pulled him in for a lingering kiss. Then everyone else followed with kisses and hugs as though it were the last time they would ever see him.
"Please do not do something like that again. Please," May said.
"I am sorry, May, but that is a promise I cannot keep. But I promise I will try to take better care of myself."
They all grimaced at his answer but accepted it.
After all, they knew he would do it again if it became necessary, and there was nothing they could do to stop him.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take a short nap."
After giving each of them a kiss and kissing his three children on the forehead, he headed toward his room, unaware that Cortana was watching his back like a hawk.
Cortana let out a sigh.
"If this keeps up, he is going to end up with a medical file the size of a Bible," she commented, piquing everyone's interest.
"A medical file?" May asked.
"Yes. A record of every injury and accident. Having that information usually helps determine what should and should not be administered during treatment."
"And I have to assume Peter created it," Yuri said.
"Correct. Sony is responsible for recording both Peter's physical and mental condition."
She created a hologram displaying the information.
"This is only a summary. The full file is accessible only to Peter."
"Would that not be an invasion of his privacy?" Missy asked, and Cortana rolled her eyes.
"You crossed that line the moment you learned Peter's identity and many other secrets. This is just a trifle."
Upon hearing that it was not that important, they began reading, and the file was incredibly detailed and explicit despite being the summary.
They read the information about every scar on his body.
The file contained the exact time and date each one had been inflicted, along with both a brief and detailed explanation of its cause.
More than one person grimaced at the level of detail in the descriptions.
But what truly worried them was when they reached the section on his psychological condition, which made them widen their eyes and cover their mouths in shock.
May could not believe what she was reading. She had never imagined that her boyfriend could be carrying so much pain while still smiling at her and saying kind things.
"The patient suffers from various mental health conditions, one of which is chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.
The PTSD also causes emotional numbness, leading to resistance in personal and social development. Daily monitoring of the patient is recommended," Missy read aloud.
"That was caused the day Ben was killed. Peter... I saw firsthand how they murdered him. Sometimes I still see him with his face covered in blood," May said in a distressed voice, filled with sadness and immense pain.
(A/N: This is just the cover to hide his otherworld identity, we all know that when Ben was killed our Peter was not even present.)
"He once told me that every time he fires a gun, he hears the echo of the moment that marked him. Now I understand that every time he pulls the trigger, he hears the echo of the gunshots from that day," Yuri said.
"Another symptom is mild Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, along with moderate paranoia," Susan read.
"That would explain his contingency plans, as well as his perfectionism about having everything in its proper place and his habit of cleaning everything he owns.
Ever since I was created, there has never been much mess for more than two days before he goes on a cleaning spree," Cortana said, remembering those moments when Peter became a cleaning maniac, which she found oddly amusing.
"The patient has a rare case of controlled multiple personality disorder. Due to his heightened senses, the patient suffers from constant migraines along with a mild case of insomnia," Missy continued.
"That explains the dramatic change whenever he puts on the suit and takes it off. If I am being honest, I would never believe Peter is Spider-Man because of the way he behaves or even the way he speaks," May said.
"Most people would not believe it. The personalities of Peter Parker and Spider-Man are not even similar. The way they speak, the way they walk, even the way they stand are completely different," Susan said.
And that is without even knowing about his personas as Jason Todd and Red Hood, Cortana thought to herself.
"Father once said that theatricality and deception are powerful weapons," Caesar said.
The girls pondered those words and realized how true they were.
"What worries me most is the insomnia. In cases like this, I am grateful for the serums because they reduce the amount of sleep he needs," Cortana said.
The girls nodded.
"Father gave us some devices to help with that. We asked him whether he used them himself, and he said that his senses are beyond what those devices can compensate for. The only real solution would be to deactivate his powers, and he has no intention of doing that. He also said it serves as training," Caesar said.
"How does Peter manage to live with all of this and still act as though it is just another ordinary day? How does he keep himself from going insane?" Missy asked.
Everyone fell silent, trying to think of an answer.
"Because I am Spider-Man, and it is up to me to make a difference," Cortana, Yuri, Selina, and Itsy said simultaneously.
"No matter how many times I get hit, or how many times I fall, I always get back up," Missy said quietly.
"There were times when he told me he asked himself how and why he became Spider-Man, and he said it all came down to a leap of faith, one he is proud to have taken," May said.
"Being different has made me a better person. It has allowed me to help many people. That is my greatest power. Just because you and your humans are different does not mean you are worth less. Quite the opposite," Caesar said.
Unable to find a clear answer, some sighed while others yawned.
When they checked the time, they sighed once more. Each of the girls kissed one of the children on the forehead and told them it was time for bed because it had grown late.
The girls then went to the main bedroom, changed into their pajamas, and climbed into bed beside their boyfriend, hugging him tightly as though it might be the last time they would ever hold him.