11 A Bloody Feast

"Aunt May, can I enroll in the gym today?" Peter asked while inhaling his breakfast as usual.

"What?!" May turned around with her eyebrows raised, the bread on the pan forgotten. "Since when do you want to go to the gym?"

"The day before yesterday. I just wanted to take better care of myself."

"Ah, Finally!" Uncle Ben popped out from behind his newspaper. "So you decided to listen to me, eh? There's a gym about ten minutes from here. You could check in there when coming back from school."

"Yup, you read my mind," Peter grinned back.

"Well, you have indeed been eating a lot more lately," May rubbed her chin. "But why the sudden change?"

"Well....," he scratched his cheek awkwardly, trying his best to look embarrassed. "Gwen beat me in arm wrestling..."

Uncle Ben immediately burst out laughing while Aunt May gave him an amused smile.

"I understand."

***

"You studied?" Peter asked Gwen next to him as they saw George Stacy off after he'd dropped them off at school.

"Nope!" Gwen chuckled and headed toward the school entrance with him beside her. "Too excited for the results."

"It's our Pre-boards, Gwen!"

"So? It's not our boards."

"But—

"Not Boards~"

"Oi! Our papers are still given to our parents. I know how strict your mom is about your marks."

Gwen struggled to come up with a rebuttal but was saved by someone approaching them.

"Peter! Gwen!" a familiar voice called out to them. MJ walked up to them with her bag on one shoulder. Her lush, red hair spilled over her back and her slender body walked with the grace of a model.

'Eh....still prefer Gwen,' Peter mentally shrugged. "Good morning."

"Hello!" MJ replied with a beautiful smile before turning to Peter. "I have a question...I really didn't understand Electro Cardio Grams and the cardiovascular cycle."

"The exam is in three hours..." Peter said dryly. People who didn't care about exams truly baffled him. No matter how idiotic and annoying the concept was, it was still one of the many tickets to their future. "You could've given me a call."

"But I heard you and Gwen were on a date?" she asked unblinkingly.

"Wha- who did you hear that from?" Peter asked, a little confused. As much as he wanted that to be a date, it, unfortunately, wasn't. He didn't think he could sustain a relationship now, as he was concentrating on his research and didn't think he could give the other person the attention they deserved.

Moreover, the only other person who knew about Gwen's visit was well...Gwen.

He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asked as she gave him an innocent shrug.

"You told her that?"

"Told her what?"

"Don't play dumb, you heard what I said."

"Nu-uh. I am partially deaf in my left ear," Gwen said, before grabbing his arm and dragging him to the entrance of the school while MJ looked at them with amusement. "Come on, we have an exam to write."

"You didn't study for it," He grumbled, letting himself get dragged away. "And the exam is in three hours, why go now?"

"What? Can't hear you."

"Don't you start this again."

"Talk a bit louder, will you?"

"Fuck you...," he muttered in defeat.

"Hah! You wish."

"....."

***

"That was annoying...." Gwen droned, walking with Peter and MJ down the steps. "Why would they ask a question about antioxidants? It's not in the fucking syllabus."

"It is," Peter replied while chewing on a mint after absolutely crushing the biology exams. He could've even taught the teachers there about the subject.

"Wait, it was?!" MJ and Gwen looked at him in confusion.

"Yup, It was in a 'Did You Know' on page 327."

"That's bullshit!" they both said, enraged, to which Peter merely shrugged before he got reminded of something. "Hey, MJ. I didn't see Harry all day. Is he okay?"

"Oh...him. I guess he's fine," MJ looked visibly uncomfortable. "I'll tell you both what happened a little later. It's just...I don't know."

"Sure, take your time," Gwen patted her back as they walked to which MJ smiled.

"Oh, I'll have to go alone from here. I need to go somewhere else," He suddenly stopped next to an intersection.

"Hm?" Gwen screeched to a halt. "Where are you going?"

"The gym that's close by."

"Wait, you're enrolling in a gym?!" she said with an incredulous expression.

"I am."

"That...sounds great!" she beamed after getting over her shock. "You really have changed."

"Yup," MJ added. "You're more confident, talk more, and have been looking a lot healthier. Have you really been eating more than your usual nothing sandwich?"

"Thanks, I guess," Peter outworldly grinned but inwardly began sweating profusely. "Just wanted to take care of myself better."

"I can see that," MJ looked him up and down which earned her a death glare from Gwen who stood at the side. "I heard you're even reciprocating Gwen's fee—

"AAAAAAAAHH!!! Let's go," Gwen dragged a giggling MJ forward. "Bye, Pete!"

"Bye!" chuckling Peter waved goodbye.

***

"Identification please," a half-dead man behind the counter said, to which Peter promptly produced his driver's license. After a few more minutes of entering his details, he was finally registered.

"That will be all, Mr. Parker," he said, handing him a large card with a chip in it. It would let him enter the Gym during the allotted time.

"Thank you," Peter smiled before immediately walking out of the gym, wearing a pair of gloves and walking over to a nearby shop. He bought a large red bucket, a LOT of tissues, wet wipes, a box of matchsticks, and two bottles of hand sanitizers. Immediately after that, he made his way into an abandoned factory near his school - something that greatly reduced the land prices there, and deposited what he bought. He even made sure to map out a path that would let him avoid any CCTV surveillance. Although it made a one-minute journey ten whole minutes, it was always better to be prepared.

He then walked to a nearby park and ordered enough high-energy, nutrient-balanced energy bars to scare any athlete. Each bar had 650 calories, and he ordered 62 of them which amounted to around 250 dollars. It didn't exactly break the bank, but it was a hefty sum. He needed to get that sweet, sweet patent money as soon as possible.

There weren't many people in the park, but it was to be expected in the evening. People had shit to do, after all.

He breathed in the fresh air that hung around the park as he sat on the grass. Enjoying nature and the immensely beautiful night sky was one of the things he missed from his past life. He was so consumed with his new research that he forgot to take a breather. Sometimes, just sitting down and doing nothing was the most relaxing thing ever.

He took a deep breath and went through the process in his head once more. He deduced that he would need around 30,000 calories to facilitate the Stage I Genome Serum, but he decided to buy more in the possibility of his deduction being wrong.

Within ten minutes, a delivery man arrived and handed him the bag filled to the brim with his energy bars. He thanked him and made his way back to the abandoned building, making sure to follow the same route. He jumped over the rickety fence with great effort.

"Finally!" Peter sighed to himself as he walked into an old room with the door hanging off its hinges. The paint on the walls was cracked and peeling while old rusted machines littered the floor. Cracks were plentiful and there were a few holes in the ceilings. Globalization really did mess up factories.

'Not the safest environment but it'll do.'

He took off his shirt and pants, not wanting to get them stained, before meticulously unwrapping each and every energy bar, and placing them on a pile - on a large piece of cloth.

He then unzipped his bag and pulled out a small box. He carefully opened it, revealing a familiar whitish-gold liquid in a large syringe.

He picked it up - still wearing his gloves, before taking a long, deep breath, calming himself for what he was about to undergo. It would not be a pleasant experience - that he knew for sure.

He reaffirmed his will before inserting the needle into his forearm and pushing down on the syringe, fully injecting the serum into his bloodstream. He placed the syringe back into the compartment before he could physically feel it.

He could feel the serum coursing through his circulatory system as if it were liquid fire. It became progressively hotter to the point of making him cry out loud to suddenly randomly cooling.

'Fuck!, here it comes,' Peter thought in trepidation as the heat abruptly switched to nausea.

"Blegh!" he leaned over and vomited a glob of bright red blood into the bucket he previously placed before him. He panted as he regained composure before stuffing his mouth with two energy bars that his body instantly digested and processed due to his increased metabolism.

"Urgh!" yet another ball of blood entered the bucket, weakening him, to which he munched on a few more bars that partially restored his strength. The cycle of weakening and strengthening continued - him vomiting his guts out while simultaneously eating enough food to last him a month and a half.

The taste of nuts and oats mixed with the taste of blood and vomit was bad enough to make him lie down and give up, but he pressed on, swallowing the heretical mixture. Drops of blood trickled down his chin and down his skinny chest, which reaffirmed his decision to not wear clothes during the procedure.

This torturous process continued for 24 cycles where he consumed 48 energy bars (31,200 calories) and expelled 3.6 liters of blood, which was a liter away from all the blood in his body. Luckily, the serum rapidly accelerated the body's functions, which led to his blood being replenished just as rapidly. Unfortunately, that led to the requirement of consuming an incredible amount of calories.

"Argh! FUCK!" Peter growled after barely managing to get to his wobbly feet. The effects of the serum were somewhat visible already. Gone was his skinny physique, now replaced by one that was visibly healthy but not muscular. His skin was clearer, and his features sharper. His eyesight had become highly blurry, but when he removed his comically thick spectacles, his vision couldn't have been better.

"Damn..." he muttered in astonishment, marvelling at the sheer amount of detail his sharp hazel eyes could discern from his surroundings. Every particle of dust suspended on a sunbeam, the rust on the machines, the ants that crawled on the wall - everything was so crisp.

The minor enhancements—from his healthier body, spectacle-less face, and clearer skin—brought out more of his innate Peter charm, which he couldn't be more pleased with.

He could feel the difference already. He felt lighter, finally strong enough to qualify as average and far less stressed. He was now the perfect human, with no genetic imperfections, and would eventually grow into his peak physiology. Unfortunately, he did not have access to the vita-rays that Erskine had, or else he could've accelerated his growth to peak strength instantly.

Thus, he would have to slowly grow into his strength and enhancements—from a growth spurt to enhanced musculature. It would take about two years to complete the growth, but the injection of the Improved Lizard Serum would probably make his Base Form peak instantly.

He loosened his improved body by stretching a bit before cleaning himself with the wet wipes. He then threw the used and unused bag of wet wipes, his gloves, and the energy bar wrappers into the bucket filled with his blood.

He ripped open the three packets of large tissues and dumped all of them into the bucket too. Within a few seconds, the tissues soaked up all the liquid, which made it a bucket full of red paper and plastic. He then opened the sanitizers and poured their entire contents and the bottles into the bucket, drenching it and its contents. Finally, he lit a match and dropped it and the matchbox into the bucket, which burst into flames almost instantly due to the alcohol.

"That's the best I can do..." he sighed to himself and wore his shirt and pants that were a bit tigher than usual. He didn't wear his glasses, which made him look better, but randomly gaining proper vision would be insanely suspicious and a stupid move on his part. He would need to get fake spectacles until he faked his fake recovery.

"I'd better leave," he muttered to himself, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked out of the abandoned room as the fire reached the ceiling.

***