Mutation

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***

Twelve hours later.

The Timeless Zone.

Base.

Spider Duo.

- I don't like the hell out of this, Zanuda," Irresponsible said angrily, bursting into the lab.

The legendary spider sighed, but didn't look away from the experiment.

- Calm down, Red, it's all right.

- No shit and nothing is all right, - explodes emotional fountain motherfucker. - Okay, the premature meeting with Deadpool could be explained, but that mission with Thor. And Doom! Fucking Doom! - the man ripped off his mask and ruffled his hair.

- Mm-hmm. I'm more worried that he's decided to reveal the secret of Mary Jane's origins," Stilyaga said, checking something. - Have you ever told your MJ?

- No," Red bit his lip. Talking about his dead wife still hurt.

- 'Neither have I,' Legendary Spider sighed, 'not Mary or Fey.

- I don't like all this, man," Parker rubbed his stubble.

- Yeah, me neither, Red. But you have to understand that whatever plans the Boss is making, we have a part to play in them," the man turned to his double, "each of us.

- I understand," the brown-haired man sighed. - Tell me honestly, don't you get scared by these rapid changes that are happening to the kid?

- Scared, - Stilyaga turns away from the object of his experiment, - of course they are. Especially the aggravation of the mutation. It should not be. But we have our own roles, and what they are, I'm afraid we won't know until the very end, but until then....

- We do what's necessary," Irresponsible finishes his sentence, putting on his mask.

- We do what is necessary," Legendary Spider nods his head.

- Is the menagerie ready? - asks the Spider in Red, more to change the subject than really out of interest.

- Yes. Space has been ripped out and transported to the Timeless Zone.

- And the creatures?

- Ready. Are you sure your magical barrier will hold?

- Yes. I can't vouch for the dinosaurs, though.

- This is a joke, isn't it?

- We'll find out soon enough," Killer Spider folds his arms across his chest.

The bracelet on the Legendary Spider's arm starts beeping.

- And I'm afraid we'll find out soon enough.

***

21 June, 2013. 8:00

Shield Medical Centre.

Spider-Man.

I struggle to unclench my eyes.

"Raj?"

The symbiote is silent, however.

I try to get up, but when I jerk my arm, I hit some kind of wire.

- What--

- You're awake! - I turn my head and see Steve's face.

- Where-" I check my mask before I ask a question.

- It wasn't taken off, it was only up to my nose," Rogers said, correctly interpreting my interest.

- I see," I say, feeling very tired. - What happened?

- After you scattered all the CII soldiers with those tentacles and fell down, one of them managed to crawl to the sonic weapon and most likely turned it on full power, because after the cannon burned, - Steve uncomfortably smoothed his hair, - the charge crashed into your back and you lost consciousness, and after your....suit was absorbed into the body.

- What happened next?

Raj seems to be recovering from some serious damage.

- I decided I needed to get back to Quinjet. A mission, no mission, but I never abandoned wounded comrades on the battlefield. Ramlow's strike force reached the objective and took control of the focal complex. Most of the beekeepers surrendered.

- So the mission was a success? - I try to get up from the couch, but I feel another tugging pain in my ribs.

I've got to get out of here.

- Wait," Cap puts his hand on my shoulder. - You're still weak from the blow, and the medics say you should lie down.

- Thanks, Steve, but I know exactly what I need right now," I gently slip the limb off my shoulder.

- There are some battles you shouldn't fight alone," Rogers stepped aside, "but I'm not going to discourage you either...Peter.

- You didn't take your mask off, did you? - I'm exhaling.

- No. The voice, I recognise the voice.

Now we have to put a vocoder in the mask.

- Why didn't you tell me? - Rogers wants to know.

- I'm a hero from the streets, and we need anonymity, you know, Cap, not everyone has support, resources and so on, - I waved my hand indefinitely and stood up. I'm wearing my suit, and it's not too badly damaged.

- But you have it all now, don't you? - The soldier is perplexed.

- How long will it last? - I put the mask on all the way. - See you, Steve," I waddle out of the compound.

*

An hour later.

Peter Parker's flat.

Peter Benjamin Parker.

The walk home is harder than I expected. My muscles are burning, the pain is getting worse, and I think I'm showing signs of fever.

With the best of my memory, I climb home through the roof and hastily take off my suit. It's hard without Raj, and I'm used to not having to change clothes all the time, but it's a good thing I still have a spare set of clothes on the roof. I change and walk back to the flat.

I get the key in the keyhole the third time and find the door open. I'm really bad.

I go inside.

- Peter?

Oh, great.

- Hi, Carrot-top," I smile at the girl, trying not to show my condition, "aren't you supposed to be at the theatre?

- I should be right now and I was going to go out, - the girl came to me, - but it's good that I caught you.

- Oh, that's right," I wiped my face, "about what happened...

The flow of explanation is interrupted, however, by Mary coming up to me and kissing me.

- Don't explain, Tiger, I know you can't drink," Watson pinches my nose and adjusts his bag on his shoulder, "but the rest of it," MJ moves closer to my ear and whispers, "I want to have a baby with you too, Pete, but let's wait a little longer, okay?

- Um... - I'm sure my eyes are the size of saucers at this point.

While I'm lost in thought, the redhead takes the keys.

- See you later, love you," Mary kisses me chastely on the lips and leaves.

- Love you too," I say into the void.

Okay, I don't have time for this right now.

I walk over to my chemistry corner and pull out a vial of recycled Gene Purifier. Doc Connors' drug was supplemented with Parker's Cocktail. By golly, with the right dosage, I'll wipe out all the negative effects of the mutation while keeping my abilities intact.

Clutching the vial in my hand.

It's a theory, though; I've studied my body better than anyone else, but I need a safety net.

Gritting my teeth.

I didn't want to go to her, I knew I'd snap, even under normal circumstances, and now.

The pain in my sides is getting worse again.

But there's no choice.

After another look at the vial, I leave the house.

*

An hour later.

I decide to take the underground to the right place. The pain is unbearable. People are staring at me like I'm a junkie, and I have to end this.

I make it to the back alley across from the lab. Thanks to New York and its tangled maze of streets.

I only have enough strength to put on a mask and crawl along the wall into the lab in civilian clothes.

I knock on the glass and lift the frame.

- Spider? - Maria waves at me habitually. - Everything okay?

She must have noticed my outfit.

- No, it's not okay at all.

I slump over the window frame and waddle to the nearest chair.

- Mutation? - Crawford asks me a heartfelt question.

So caring and concerned.

I grit my teeth in anger.

- Is the cure ready? - I don't answer the question.

- The serum hasn't been tested and I'm not sure--

- Give me the cure, Maria, I don't ask.

- The spider is dangerous and...

- I see, - I get up from the chair and go to the table with test tubes, - so I'll take it myself.

I walk past the shocked woman and, leaning on the table, go through the test tubes.

- It's not right," I toss aside the flask stand, "it's all wrong!

I walk over and push back the chair next to me.

I lift the table on wheels above my head and I'm going to throw it at the wall.

- Spider, stop! You're acting like a monster!

The brunette's terrified voice brings me back to reality.

- Really, what am I doing? - I struggle to put the piece of furniture back in place.

I go to the wall and sit on the floor.

- What's the matter with you? - The woman looks at me with her worried brown eyes.

- You lied to me, Maria," I answer tiredly.

- What do you mean? - though I can tell by the sound of her voice that she knows.

- My blood, that sample was stolen, wasn't it?

- I...I," the woman is lost.

- Don't lie to me, Crawford," I say coldly.

I might need her help, but I felt too fucked up to talk about it right now, and I was trying to avoid it. It didn't work.

- I wanted to tell you, I really did!

- What stopped you? I left my number. You know, just for this kind of thing.

- I was scared, - Maria lowered her eyes, - I let your trust down and you would never come to me again, - the brunette raised her head. - But I've always helped you and I want to help you now, nothing has changed!

- You want to help me? Then give me the serum.

The woman crumples, but nods.

The scientist goes to the wall and pulls back a painting, behind it is a safe. Maria enters the code and takes out a vial of pale blue liquid.

- I'm not sure the compound will work," the woman warns me, handing me the flask.

- I hope it works," I tuck the glass vial into my pocket. - Maybe as soon as this crisis is resolved we'll have another quiet discussion," I go to the window, "but until then," I turn to Maria, who looks at me guiltily, "goodbye, Dr Crawford.

I climb out of the window and crawl up the wall. The pain doesn't lessen, only intensifies. I'm afraid this is the end point.

I'm climbing to the roof. This time I have to get home by air. No matter how hard it is.

I shoot out a web and swing on the thread.

Every cell is on fire.

One more spin.

This is perfect for an emergency.

Shot.

I should have taken the jetpack.

Locking on.

It's gonna be a long ride.

I made it home in a daze.

Each spider web equated to a needle driven deep under my skin. But it's over.

The pain gets so bad that I forget about the conspiracy and crawl home through the window.

I walk over to the chemistry corner and leave the Crawford serum in the rack. It's insurance. We'll try to set things up with the Cocktail first.

For a second, I think about how it all looks and, images from the distant past come to mind. The scenery may be different, but the circumstances are the same.

All right, I'm not in doubt.

I take a vial of my own compound and pop the cork.

Deep breath.

Whatever happens.

I drink it all in one gulp and walk to the couch.

I sit down and wait.

After a few minutes, I feel the pain start to go away.

- Did it really work? - I smile uncertainly.

And the second I do, the pain comes back with triple the force.

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

I fall to my knees and clutch my torso.

Seconds later, in what felt like hours of horrible pain, the thing I feared most happens.

A hand bursts out of my subcostal region.

- No! Not that...Aaaahhhh!

My panic is interrupted by pain and another hand ripping out.

I try to dig my original right arm into the floor and pull myself up to the chem corner.

My legs won't hold at all.

I get halfway across, but two more arms come out.

This horrible painful sensation interrupts everything I was prepared for and I pass out from sensory shock.

***

Ibid.

A few minutes later, after the triggered violent mutation has occurred, two lilac flashes flash in Peter Parker's flat.

Legendary and Red Spidey appear in the room after being teleported.

- 'Oh my God,' exclaims the spider in the symbiotic suit as his counterpart approaches their younger version, 'is he okay?

- Huh, looks like it? - Zanuda examines the horribly pale brown-haired man who had become corpse-like, which when coupled with the extra arms looked truly awful. - This idiot decided to try to cure himself by self-development first.

- He can be understood, - tried to justify the kid Red, - you would have decided to bet everything on the serum Crawford, after what happened?

- He's good, but he's not that experienced in genetics," Stilyaga cut him off, "you can't rely on emotion in situations like this. I'd trust a professional.

- The guy was dealing with all the shit life threw at him, and the clones were a turning point, he even killed the Jackal, so it's forgivable to get emotional," Red said with the same conviction, "especially after you're in danger of turning into an unintelligent spider monster forever.

- And as a result, it's all fixed, eh? - sneers Legendary.

- The Crawford serum will work, right?

- It should," Nerd walked over to Peter's mini lab and pulled out a flask.

- Why don't we not do that and just inject him with the serum? - Realising that it was pointless, Red clarified.

- You know we can't, Irresponsible. He's going to be tested.

- I tried," the man sighed and lifted the mutated body of his younger version into the air with a levitation spell.

- Okay, I'm sending us off.

The Legendary activated the bracelet and Peter Parker's flat lit up with the light of several lilac flashes, leaving the room completely empty.

*

The Timeless Zone.

Later.

Legendary was in the lab monitoring the situation.

The door opened and Red stepped inside.

- Is everything ready? - Zanuda asked.

- Yes.

- Where did you leave him?

- In the cave. Before he wakes up, it's the safest place, - Irresponsible folded his hands behind his back.

- The suit, the message?

- I put it on and left those holo-notes of yours.

- Well, then it's time.

Legendary activated the Menagerie.