Spider Society

James stayed awake the entire night desperately scrubbing and cleaning, trying his hardest to erase the violent scene of gore that was his bedroom. He spent hours doing his best to get the room clean but even after rounds and rounds of bleach and peroxide were used the heavy scent of copper lingered in the bedroom.

The entire effort took the rest of his night leaving him exhausted and extremely frustrated with his own weakness. Nevertheless, he walked into his bathroom and wiped the tiredness off his face as he went through his morning routine.

------

James walked through the door of midtown and once again he turned heads as he walked to his first class of the day. The sea of bodies parted as James slowly walked to his class.

"Woo James you rule1" yelled a nerdy-looking figure from the crowd of students. His cheer was a rallying cry as almost everyone else joined in cheering for him.

"Wooo James you're amazing!"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"We love you!!!"

The cheers of the grateful student body morphed into a cacophony of indiscriminate cheering and praise. James grinned as he watched the abused student body cheer for him as Flash and his posse could only watch on in frustration and loathing.

James walked into his first class as the loud cheers of the crowd rang through the halls of Midtown. Once the door closed every single eye in the Biology class was locked on him in a seemingly unflinching gaze.

James was a bit unnerved by the scrutinizing gazes of his extremely interested classmates. Nevertheless, he walked into the class and found a seat right next to Peter Parker.

"Should you be sitting here Mr popular?" Peter joked as he poked fun at James' newfound popularity.

"Idk know maybe I should charge you an appearance fee" James joked back.

"Mr. Oliver I know you may feel popular but I must insist that you pay attention to this lesson" His strict biology teacher bellowed out

"Sorry sir I'll pay attention" James replied as the teacher turned back to the board to continue his lesson.

James turned to Peter to say one last thing "I need to talk to you and Gwen about the spider incident, come to my apartment this afternoon." James said as he slide over a flashcard with his address.

Peter's face flashed milk white for a second before he shakily collected the flashcard with James' address on it.

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James went through the rest of his morning classes with the same level of fanfare every time he walked the halls of midtown. At every moment during the day James searched for a specific face in the crowd of people passing through the halls yet he couldn't find her no matter how hard he tried.

The morning flew by in a flash and eventually lunch came and James knew that this was the biggest chance he would get to find Cindy. The wrench in his plans was his fan club which was mobbing him at every turn and preventing him from getting a moment alone.

Frustrated by the constant attention bombing James used his powers to escape the group and enjoy a little alone time. He crept over to a hidden part of the courtyard of the school where he found a girl there.

'This has got to be fate or something'

James approached Cindy as she stared at his approaching form confused. James noticed that she was dressed much more conservatively than usual. She had on a baggy white hoodie and big baggy blue jeans that barely fit her athletic and lithe frame.

"What are you doing here?" Cindy questions as James seemingly invaded her sanctuary.

"I just came here to get away from everything, after my fight with Flash yesterday I'm basically king of the nerds" James joked trying to break the awkward tension in the air.

James could tell she was cautious of him but knew that he needed to do this "So Cindy I uh, wanted to talk about what happened at the lab last week. I'm inviting Peter and Gwen over so that we could talk about how things have been since the bite"

Cindy visibly looked shaken before she responded "I-i'll see if I can make it but I'm not sure yet"

"No problem Cindy" was all James said as he gave her an index card with his address on it.

------

James was alerted that his guest had arrived via the soft knocks on his door. James opened the door wide and welcomed them with his warmest smile "Welcome to my home". Peter and Gwen reciprocated with smiles over their own but anyone could feel the strain behind those grins.

The room was filled with a charged atmosphere as they gathered, unaware of the web of intrigue that surrounded them.

"So you two are probably wondering why I called you to my apartment today" They nodded their heads as James continued "I wanted to discuss the accident and what has happened to us as a result. Before you deny it, I know almost as a fact you just like me have awakened strange inhuman spider-like abilities"

"Okay, what are we gonna do?" asked Peter

"We'll figure that out later I need to give you something first, come with me to my bedroom". James got up from his couch and walked into his bedroom where there were two backpacks that looked filled to the brim with something.

"What's in the bags" Gwen voiced as she grew more and more hesitant about what James was trying to involve them in

"In each of these bags, there is one hundred thousand dollars in bearer bonds that were given to me by the "great" Norman Osborne in exchange for our silence about what occurred at the lab last week.

Gwen chuckled as she put the pieces together "I can't believe he thinks our lives are worth a hundred thousand dollars a piece.

"Look I suggest you two sign the NDAs and take the money, it'll help you greatly not to mention he already gave us the gift of superpowers money on top just makes the whole thing sweeter.

Peter wordlessly grabbed the form and signed it. "Peter, what the hell are you doing? If you sign that then he'll get what he wants"

"Gwen, you know how much my aunt and uncle struggle taking this money can allow them to relax a little so even if I have to sell my soul I'll do it just to make sure that they have life just a little bit easier" peter declared as he signed and initialed the form.

Gwen's face soften as she realized that Peter absolutely needed this money. She took the form in her hand and signed and initialed the document before she handed it back to James.

"What are we going to do?" Gwen asked, her voice filled with a mix of determination and apprehension.

"We stick together," James replied, his voice firm. "We can't let Osborn's presence or his money control us. We'll use our powers responsibly, protect those who need it, and uncover the truth behind our transformations."

The trio walked into the living area to continue their discussion when they heard a knock at the door