Spidey Scared!

'A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.'

 - John Stuart Mill

***

At Oscorp Tower.

Contrary to many other buildings, this tower was built in a spherical shape. There were no corners on the outside of the tower, revealing a perfectly symmetrical shape.

If one had to choose between Stark Tower, if it existed, or Oscorp Tower, they would choose the latter. Except for the iconic 'A' and open terrace, Stark Tower didn't actually offer much artistic design when compared to Oscorp.

And unlike the former, Oscorp Tower actually allowed the employees to enter. When was the last time anyone saw someone working at Stark Tower? Even in the movies, except for Black Widow and Pepper Potts, there weren't a lot of other extras moving about.

It's amazing how the multi-billion dollar company doesn't have many employees.

"Good morning, students." Mrs. Sonata, the A.P. Bio teacher, spoke cheerfully, "I shall be your guide for this tour."

Mrs. Sonata was more excited than the students standing before her, who had a neutral and bored look on their faces.

She moved gleefully, almost skipping, "Now follow me and don't fall back."

The students started to trail after her. They were happy about the missed classes, reveling in the joy of bunking classes while not exactly doing so.

Except for Peter and Gwen, everybody else wasn't the least bit interested in this tour.

"Peter, did you know that Oscorp has been researching about the healing properties of lizards for some time now?" Gwen leaned closer and whispered.

Peter rolled his eyes to her and sighed, "Yeah, Dr. Connors is the head of that project, right? The same person you sent your internship application to?"

Whether Gwen would help Dr. Connors become the lizard or not, mattered less to Peter. He was currently nervous about the spider-bite.

'Will I be bitten? Somebody else better not steal that spider! Maybe that bite may kill me. Upon a second thought, this is really dangerous, isn't it? Being bitten by a radioactive spider and supposedly getting superpowers, is something only a madman would look forward to.'

A plethora of thoughts passed through his head in an instant. 

'Man, I wish MJ was here... Why the fuck did I just think that?'

Frowning slightly, Peter focused on the single thought that was different than others. It seemed that he would regret not seeing MJ today if he died.

"You okay?" Gwen inquired, "You are scowling, like the murderer of your parents is standing before you."

That was an oddly specific sentence.

Peter didn't emphasize on his turbulent emotions, "Nothing. Just remembered there was a spider exhibit in here. Something about recreating the Supersoldier Serum."

Gwen nodded along with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, that is the project that Oscorp is concentrating on. But people say that it's only burning their money and stock value. After Dr. Erskine, no one has successfully crafted a perfect Supersoldier Serum."

Many companies had tried to make the SSS before. The rate of failure was always 100%.

Even the ones that came close to reaching SSS, had severe side effects. Like a loss of emotions, lack of morality or uncurable cancer.

Like nano-tech, Supersoldier Serum was a type of black technology, centuries ahead of the current science.

If Peter was also a biology major, he would have loved to give this daunting task a try. Either making an abomination in the process or succeeding gloriously.

The tour group stopped before a few cages of glass. It was kept in one of the most secure places of the building, breeding the specimens in complete isolation.

Dim lights providing a better enviroment. Students were already happy about that.

Peter felt that someone gropped his butt, 'Who the fuck is using this opportunity?' The culprit already moved away before being caught.

In recent months, as the students grew up and became more aware of their sexuality and urges. They began looking at Peter with lustful gazes. Some confessed to him, some stalked him while some were hoping for a fantasy-like love, crashing into him with a bread in mouth.

Thankfully, Peter had trained his body. Beating any girl who misbehaved or forced herself on him.

"Moving on, this is the famous Spider Exhibit that Oscorp is working on. They are aiming to replicate the effects of the Supersoldier Serum of Captain Carter." Mrs. Sonata paused before smiling, "Results indicate that they are close to succeeding in the process."

Her words attracked the attention of every student, they watched the motley-colored spiders, each having a distinct shape on their body.

She spoke with a hint of pride, "Look carefully at the 15 spiders before they may make it into history." 

At that moment, a student raised her hand, "There's only 14 spiders there."

Her keen eyes already counted the spiders in the dark environment. For Peter, this girl was surely the prime suspect for the person who molested him. One can tell how perverted they are, by their sight. In this dimmed room, she clearly saw everything, thus, she could have used the situation to her advantage, satisfying her lascivious desires.

Mrs. Sonata flinched before turning around and counting the spiders carefully, '14.'

The paper board in her hands was flipped continuously, hoping for something that might help. Her hands paused as she read a peculiar page.

"Ha~ Don't worry, guys," She spoke with a relieved sigh, "Some of the spiders here can camoflage themselves. The missing spider must still be in its cage, but nobody can see it. Cool, isn't it?"

During her speech, Peter felt something crawling up on his arm.

He glanced down and brought his hand up. A blue-red spider looked up at him, feeling his gaze. She wasn't good at being sneaky and was caught suddenly.

A huge smile blossomed on Peter's face as he saw the spider, 'Fuck cancer. Just bite me already.'

.

.

.

Spidey, the resident spider specimen. An orb-weaving spider, although unlike her siblings, she was a bit defective.

She couldn't spin webs correctly, didn't have any camoflage, couldn't produce bio-electricity. From her strength to speed, everything was average.

One day, a few scientists decided to conduct a special experiment. Hoping to hasten the process of SSS development, pressured by Norberta Osborn.

Hence, they put 10 spiders together in a small cage, letting them fight each other. Adversity was a necessity for evolution and growth.

Surprisingly, Spidey, the defective spider, was the victor of this 'Poison Jar' experiment.

Her tenacity was unmatched by her siblings. While the others were dominant, she was subtle. Winning and devouring her siblings, not by her strength but by her wit.

Among all spiders, Spidey easily took the mantle of the smartest one.

'Honestly, Spidey can think and understand human speech so Spidey is the smartest. Spidey doesn't know why humans want Super-Spidey but the scientists feel malicious,' Spidey thought to herself as her strength was waning.

Though the 'Poison Jar' experiment was successful to a certain extent, it brought irreparable damage to Spidey's body. Her body was filled with the venom of her siblings, dying slowly. The clock was running out.

'Bite... Bite... Bite...'

While an instinctive hallucination was telling her to bite someone, pass on her 'venom' to someone else. To leave something, anything. The natural instinct of reproduction was drawfed by the instinct to give her powers to another entity.

'If I'm going to bite someone, it better be a boy. And a cute one at that!' Spidey declared, overruling her instincts.

She survived 100 days past her destined death, waiting for the perfect moment. Death came for her at several occasions, yet she remained unrelenting and indomitable.

And then, came the day of Oscorp Tour.

A group of kids entered the dimly lit room. Among them, Spidey saw a handsome boy.

With black hair push backwards, hazel-tinted irises and a soft, charming smile.

'Ah! My prince!!'

Within a minute, Spidey outsmarted the defenses around the cage, twisting her limbs to bypass the electric barrier that kept the spiders within. Using the air holes in the glass cage to leave.

Like a ninja, she slithered across the floor, using her senses to avoid being stepped on. Finally reaching her target.

She climbed up the black pants of the boy, jumping on his hand after reaching a certain height.

The hand was raised up, sensing the tickling, 'Spidey did her best to be sneaky though.'

Feeling the gaze, Spidey looked up. It wasn't a normal gaze, that glare felt familiar.

'Yes, it is the predatory gaze that Spidey's siblings have,' She gulped down, 'Spidey scared!'

The handsome boy's facial expression twisted as he smiled dangerously, licking his lips.

'Eh, is Spidey going to be eaten? No, humans don't eat spiders,' Spidey understood her precarious situation and tried to leave.

But her strength began to leave. Death couldn't wait anymore, decisively blocking her from other options.

'No other choice!' She raised her fangs and pierced the boy, thrusting her 'venom' on the fresh wound. Pumping the blood with her powers.

The boy winced with a muffled voice. His deadly smile twisted into a frown of pain.

She waited for the boy to grimace and smack her away, fully aware how a person reacted when bitten.

Fortunately, the hit never came. Instead a small finger patted her head, as if thanking her for the deed.

Feeling the warmth, Spidey's body hung limply. Dying after her goal was completed.

'Spidey still scared though,' She thought while hoping that the boy would be safe, carrying her will through the venom flowing in his veins.

.

.

.

'Hehe, it's finally done,' Peter mused to himself, looking at the bump on the back of his wrist. Carefully packing the dead spider in a vial that he had prepared beforehand.

'Now, time will tell whether I die or become something entirely inhuman.'

Peter was feeling a bit dizzy because of the toxins in his blood stream. His feet were heavy, the atmosphere around felt like the deep sea. Nausea rose up from the bottom of his trachea.

His body temperature rose slightly, increasing with each passing moment.

The voices began bluring in the background.

At that moment, a terrified voice attracted his attention, "Peter! Oh, my God, are you okay?"

Gwen glanced at his swollen arm, noticing the two red bite marks on it.

"Did you get-"

Before she could continue, Peter interrupted her, "Sorry, Gwen. I'm feeling a bit sick so I'm leaving. Tell Mrs. Sonata for me, will you?"

With that, he began to walk out, ignoring everything else.

A storming headache struck his body, pain filled his burning nerves. 

He doesn't remember how he reached home. Except for the Indian driver called Dopinder or Gopi, carrying him to his house.

Aunt Bea was on her job. Leaving Aunt May to see Peter's feeble form. She almost called the ambulance but Peter himself said otherwise.

"It's just an allergy, Aunt May. A good night's rest is all I need."

Although Aunt May wasn't conviced, she decided to wait and watch. If the fever kept rising, then she would take him to the hospital, despite the objections.

Luckily, the fever went down quickly. Peter almost fainted as his body cooled down, sleeping for a good 15 hours.

In that period, his body kept mutating. Useless muscles were degraded into energy and forwarded to build other muscles, increasing their density.

His height increased from 163 cm to 167 cm, which was rather tall for men in this world. 

Aunt May sat on the nearby chair, watching his body transform miraculously. Shocked at the revelation of this 'magic'.

.

.

.

"Mrs. Osborn," A scientist from Oscorp trembled as she bowed her head, "There's a problem."

Sitting in the cold confines of her office, Norberta Osborn turned towards this scientist.

"A problem," Her eyebrows furrowed distastefully.

"What's the problem?"

The scientist gulped down her saliva, "Project 319 is missing."

Project 319 was the winner of the 'Poison Jar' experiment. A trick they stolen from the Ancient Chinese medicine.

When many poisonous insects were thrown together, only the insect with the strongest poison would survive.

However, this pattern was broken by Project 319. Her powers were by no means strong but she smartly bid her opponents against each other and attacked them slyly, surviving the death match.

Though she was poisoned and dying by the end of it, she was still an interesting specimen. A specimen that Norberta herself was keeping an eye on.

- Crack!

Norberta grabbed the nearest glass and threw it at the wall, breaking it in the process.

"YOU FOOLS!! Do you not understand the value of Project 319?! It was estimated to die almost three months ago. Yet it survived. By sheer will and tenacity! It was the closest thing to making a Supersoldier Serum!!

How could you lose it!? Find that damned spider!! Even the dead body will be a treasure trove!"

Huffing in rage, Norberta sat back down and shifted to gaze at the window, looking at the scenery outside. Calming herself to regain her past tranquility while the scientist scurried off in fear, calling all the guards to search for a single spider.

Norberta's reaction wasn't excessive. No, instead it was docile.

Project 319 wasn't only her last chance to get the company back to the top but also the opportunity to cure her Retroviral Hypodysplasia.

A disease that slowly ravished the bearer's body. Constantly causing suffering.

After a while, the bearer has no choice but to lie weakly on the bed, throbbing in agony and waiting for the inevitable.

Nevertheless, that disease and company weren't the main reason behind Norberta's craze.

'My daughter...' Flashes of her happy family passed by her weary eyes, 'Harriet needs to take over this company. She needs to live a better life.'

Her fists were clenched tightly, hoping that her daughter didn't suffer the same fate as her.

The cold, harsh CEO loved her family more than the world. And if the world dared to threaten their happiness, she didn't mind burning it all down.

'I will get you at all costs!'

Her eyes gleamed with an eerie crimson, revealing the greed behind them.